A bit of history: long-distance endurance horse
racing was a fad of the late 19th/early 20th century, not unlike
marathon dances in the '30s. The very skills that once were a
matter of life and death were now packaged as fodder for
newspaper headlines and bets; cowboys whose way of life was gone
could make a brutal buck by pitting their skills against
sportsmen who would otherwise be shooting wild game in Africa or
young idiots who thought all there was to do was sit on a horse
and point it in the right direction. The fact that horses, the
invaluable companion, are misused to such ill purpose is not
incidental, but very much to the point.
Bite the Bullet is a movie that succeeds in
spite of its flaws, not because it doesn't have any. The screenplay is simply
dreadful in exposition and simple conversation. The bad guy who
died halfway through should have been cut completely; utterly
worthless. And why must all Westerns have a headstrong young punk?
But the script isn't all bad. There is some
give and take that is perfect--"How do you like it?" "Without conversation"
is a highlight, but I also enjoyed Coburn's "You start
trouble, I start bleeding" or the journalist's response to
Vincent--"Is it important?" "Must be. He said it
twice."
There are two perfect monologues--Johnson's and
Hackman's. (Hackman cites his "I wasn't worth her spit"
speech as one of his three finest moments on screen.) And much of
the story in this movie is accomplished without words--it may
surprise you to know that "The people some people marry"
are the last lines spoken in the film.
The performances are exceptional; I think this
is Coburn's finest work. Hackman is always great and it was a
tough part, but I'm not sure Hackman alone could have sold this
movie without Coburn's pragmatism. Still, it's hard to play a
perfect man who doesn't communicate rectitude and self-righteousness
at every step, and Hackman nails it, humanizing him with little
touches (the aforementioned response to the whore, and his upward
glance at his hat--still on his head).
The Ms has accurately captured the problem with
the Bergen character--it is my complaint about many female
characters, not just this one. But as the requisite "chick",
Bergen gives what is arguably her best performance: understated,
humorous, capable. No tedious speeches from her about what women
are capable of--and no outrage from the men, who only look out
for her the way they look out for everyone else. I am annoyed by
the requirement of a chick wearing designer jeans and earrings,
but given the standard, I think she delivers very well. Vincent
is passable in a weak part; to his credit he delivered on the one
scene that had to be done right--when he can't watch Hackman at
the end of the race.
I am very fond of Ian Bannen's character in
this movie, and I think it is significant that the *only* moment
of overt emotion is displayed by the one character that would be
expected to have a stiff upper lip. The hired man is well-played
and interestingly presented as a very decent guy; the Mexican
just *looks* fine--a great face. And Ben Johnson delivers more
with bad lines than most actors ever could with Shakespeare.
I think the score is marvellous, particularly
the main theme.
I love the ending; I first saw this movie when
I was 13 and it gave me a thrill that will never leave. But
consider that ending in light of Hackman's bathtub speech to
Coburn, in which he says that he's not American. "If you're
not the best, not the greatest, then you don't win and you're not
American."
Hackman enters the race because he wants to
change that aspect of himself and become a winner. He refuses
money, he refuses to help his friend, he learns the name of the
boxer who won the fight, and he drives himself to win (after
laudanum poisoning, no less).
But in the end, he chooses not to win. I spend
quite a bit of time thinking about his decision in light of that
earlier line.
A key point, to me, in understanding the movie
is realizing that Coburn's gesture is a gift. Coburn is not moved
by Hackman's self-sacrifice and concern for his horse. He isn't
stirred to be a better man. No. He looks behind to see if he can
afford to be a nice guy (and lordy, I love that check). And then
he gets off of his horse.
I think Bite the Bullet is fascinating. A movie
about a race that makes it quite clear that it doesn't matter who
wins. That provides a damn near perfect character and then gives
him a friend who teases him about this shortcoming. At no point
in the movie is Hackman's morality presented as something to
emulate *over* Coburn's rough and ready self-interest. A variety
of characters are presented solely in the context of the race.
You can like them, dislike them, ignore them--the movie doesn't
care and doesn't tell you with any cues what matters and what
doesn't.
While you might not enjoy this type of movie, I
think it's pretty clear that these aren't flaws or failures of
effect but conscious artistic choices. And that just interests me
no end. I think Brooks is painting a much different picture of
the end of the West than most, and in the end has a more
realistic interpretation.
