University of Virginia Library

Little Emotion

I do, however, deeply regret that
he did not pay a bit more attention
to the relationship of the three
primary characters. It seems at
times as if they take one another
for granted. For instance, there is
very little show of emotion when,
near the film's end, Etta announces
that she is going to leave her
cohorts in Bolivia and head back to
the States. It should be a moving
moment because her reason for
leaving is that she senses their
deaths are near and she doesn't
want to see them destroyed. Yet
the scene, haphazardly pieced into
the proceedings, does not convey to
us the significance of her departure
to Butch and the Kid. They
continue, just as before, until they
meet their deaths, another event
that does not have the dramatic
impact that it should.

It is strange that this lack of
emotion exists inasmuch as each of
the principals puts his character
across splendidly. Paul Newman has
never been more personable than he
is as Butch. It is a role which he
obviously enjoyed playing and in
which he excels. He does not take
the character seriously and, therefore,
most everything he says
sounds like a put-on. As a result,
Butch Cassidy comes to life maybe
not as the smartest bank robber of
all-time, but certainly as the most
amiable.

Complimenting him at every
turn, Robert Redford as his sidekick
plays it straight most of the
time, effectively all of the time. He's
the fast gun to Butch's fast brains,
the foll who takes their work more
seriously. During the overlong
"chase" scene in the half of
the movie, it is the verbal rapport
between the two that alone carries
the weakest segment.

As their mutual girl, Katharine
Ross (still better known as The
Graduate's Girlfriend) looks lovelier
than ever. Especially winning in the
bicycle scene, she is a teacher who
seeks more meaning and excitement
out of life than can be found in a
stuffy schoolhouse. How Butch and
the Kid can take her for granted
and then let her go is beyond
reason, in fact it is downright
incredulous!

It's a talented group of people
that have combined to make
"Butch Cassidy and The Sundance
Kid." Their film won't win them
any awards (except hopefully in the
case of Mr. Bacharach, who is long
overdue for a best song Oscar), but
it will please many people. Its
success is not as emphatic as it
might have been, but it is, nevertheless,
distinctive, different, and,
most important, fun.