A fast-paced heist flick starring the hottest couple of the decade, with the King of Cool in a sharp suit, genre-defining shootouts and music from Quincy Jones?
The Getaway is definitely one of the coolest films ever made. But this tale of a married couple outrunning the law also manages to be messier and more interesting than a simple plot summary suggests.
Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw star as the McCoys, a bank-robbing husband and wife trying to get away after a heist that could have gone better. But the law is the least of their problems, with a betrayed accomplice also on their tail – not to mention several heavily-armed henchmen of the corrupt businessman who set up the job in the first place.
But what's less well remembered is that, throughout his career, he often strained against his manly image. You see it in his later films like Junior Bonner and Tom Horn, in which McQueen played aging cowboys. And you can see it in The Getaway too. Yes, McQueen plays an ice-cold, black-suited bank robber.
But Peckinpah and McQueen repeatedly undercut his cool-guy persona. The whole plot hinges on the fact that Doc can't hack it in jail, just the first of many failings in a story that's as much about a turbulent marriage as it is about an exciting heist.
That central relationship adds the depth to this action-packed flick, which sizzles with chemistry between McQueen and his co-star Ali McGraw – they even embarked upon a real-life affair while filming.
Onscreen, they play a turbulent married couple, with McQueen's jealous husband turning his anger on his wife Carol when he confronts the things he's made her do. Carol isn't just loyal to her larcenous husband, she's a key member of the bank robbing crew, and more than holds her own in the film's bullet-strewn final showdown.
Director Sam Peckinpah was infamous for his apocalyptic endings, and The Getaway is no exception. It's a masterpiece of action cinema, with clever use of slow-mo, textured sound design and grippingly rhythmic editing capturing the chaos and danger of a deadly gunfight.
By this point, the film is as dirty and beaten-up as McQueen's suit. With Sam Peckinpah in charge and Steve McQueen picking at the boundaries of his onscreen image, The Getaway is a thrilling action movie – and more.
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