Several iconic, eerie lines and the chance to see some of Hollywood’s elite in their youth prompted me to watch “Deliverance,” a tale of four friends who take a canoe trip down the Cahulawassee River before it is destroyed to be turned into a lake. The friends are, of course, to be tormented by local mountain men, as the movie is pop culture cannon. And while movies of this ilk: “The Last House on the Left” (1972) and “The Hills Have Eyes” (1977) focus on the horror these events can bring, “Deliverance” is a strange film, a film that fast forwards over these atrocities and makes the movie instead a lackluster survival epic and bizarre guilt trip that erases much of its horror and leaves one instead scratching their head.
Much of what is frustrating about “Deliverance” is its poor story, which is odd, since the script was written by Jame Dickey, the same man who wrote the novel it is based on. The four friends Ed, Lewis, Bobby, and Drew (played by Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox respectfully) are city types from Atlanta—but this I learned from reading reviews of the film, not from the movie itself. The beginning is a confusing collage. The four set off on a canoe trip with low, muddled dialogue, and the point of their trip is barely mentioned. Along the way we glean that the rapids-filled river is to be turned into a lake, but never is history of the river nor the purpose of the friends’ journey really expounded upon.
The four do have good chemistry—not as good as some user reviews cite—but fairly believable. However, really only two of them—Ed and Lewis—are given the backstory and credit they deserve. Ed is a family man, and is given the most screen time while Lewis is a bachelor-type who is into hunting, and likes to flex his muscles in-between fussing over his hunting bow. The rapids are loud, and the four discuss things that are frequently drowned out by the sounds of the water. Lewis is the machismo of the group, and the others are varying degrees of reasonable. Lewis frequently talks about ‘the game’ of it all, though neither the others nor the audience really learns what this means.
What is disappointing about “Deliverance” is it probably could have been a good movie if it had picked one genre and stuck to it. It could have been a great adventure film—the scenes of the canyons, valleys, and river are spectacular, and I learned the actors did their own stunts for the movie. It could have been a great buddy adventure, as the actors are all capable and seem to deliver their lines with ease. It could have also been, as was likely intended, a terrific horror picture, the kind of elemental horror that many users remark ‘could have happened to anyone.’
Jon Voight in a scene from “Deliverance” (Warner Bros., 1972).
Where the film fails is that it skips and jerks from one genre to the next, and never decides which one it wants to be. Its real horror, a torture and rape of two of the men by hillbillies is crammed into a sub 10-minute scene that fails to relay the horror it intends. And compared to films like the aforementioned “The Last House on the Left” and “I Spit on Your Grave,” which focus on the psychological torture and rape of women, “Deliverance” misses the opportunity to equal the playing field in portraying this as the violating act it truly is. One victim seems mildly concerned, while another, who faced the brunt of the sexual assault, barely seems to care. It’s not the actors’ fault though—there’s simply a lack of writing to give them much to work with. The cynical side of me also wonders if the sexual assault was written less violent towards men than towards women due to social stature; but the film is neither pro nor anti-feminist. It’s simply confusing.
But for all its above faults, the one I found just mind-bogglingly strange is Cox’ Drew’s reaction to the self-defense murder of one of the woodmen who is threatening them. He’s suffering some great inner turmoil over the man’s demise, over this ‘murder,’ when it was a simple case of self defense over someone attempting to kill you. It’s like Laurie Strode weeping over stabbing Michael Myers as he’s trying to kill her because ‘he’s still a person,’ and makes no sense at all. His arc takes a head-scratching turn. I have no idea if director John Boorman is trying to make a point about morality, or guilt, or some other illusory concept—there’s simply not enough exposition to determine this fact.
The post climax of the film, as well as its ending, are truncated and rushed, and really lack any horror or sense of purpose. The film tries to turn the hunted into the guilty, and hints of horrors and cover-ups on the part of the town that may or may not be in its protagonists’ heads.
“Deliverance” isn’t a movie I hated; it failed to convey much of any feeling in me, which is almost a bigger affront. It’s a series of events that begin and drag and then finally end that fails to impart much feeling along with them. It was nominated for three Oscars, among them ‘Best Picture,’ so take this criticism as you see fit. To me it’s a film of untapped potential that got lost in the writing process before its actors got a chance to utter a line, but may still unnerve you enough to warm a Halloween night.
