Thu 5 Jan 2017
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: THE MECHANIC (1972).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[6] Comments
THE MECHANIC. United Artists, 1972. Charles Bronson, Jan-Michael Vincent, Keenan Wynn, Jill Ireland, Linda Ridgeway, Frank DeKova. Director: Michael Winner.
For the first sixteen minutes, there is no dialogue. None. Just a sequence in which we see Charles Bronson or, more accurately, a character portrayed by him, plan and execute an assassination of an older man living in a rundown Los Angeles hotel room. But there’s music accompanying the action, a score composed by Jerry Fielding. Unfortunately, the music overwhelms everything else, making it more obtrusive than artistic.
In many ways, this initial sequence is indicative of the film as a whole. It tries to be artistic and deep, but fails nearly on every level. And the overwhelming, out of place soundtrack doesn’t help matters, either.
Now, some may see this criticism as overly harsh. After all, what’s not to like about the pairing of Charles Bronson and a youthful Jan-Michael Vincent as a skilled hitman and his apprentice? Both are good actors for the genre, and there’s actually some personal chemistry between the two (an earlier version of the script apparently hinted at a forbidden romance between these two men who live outside societal norms).
But it’s not the acting, nor the script per se that makes this a rather dreary affair. It’s the fact that The Mechanic tries so hard, so very hard, to say something profound about what it must be like to be a hitman that it verges into self-parody. Bronson’s character, the titular mechanic, is a brooding, philosophical sort who lives alone in a giant Hollywood Hills home and who has a penchant for martial arts and seemingly little connections with other people, aside from a girlfriend portrayed by Bronson’s wife Jill Ireland. By trying too hard to make a statement, The Mechanic ends up saying very little.
January 6th, 2017 at 8:57 am
Jonathan, I have to disagree with you on this one. I’ve seen this movie many times since it first came out, and like it better with every showing. The opening scene showing Bronson doing the job he’s paid for is really terrific, and I honestly don’t remember the background music. Also, Jill Ireland is not his girlfriend, but a whore paid to act like his girlfriend, showing he doesn’t need anyone in his life. Maybe I like Bronson too much, but this movie still works for me.
January 6th, 2017 at 11:42 am
While I didn’t find the action sequences boring, exactly, I did find them dull and uninteresting. Bronson plays himself, as usual, which is not a bad thing. But I think who this hitman is, as well as the relationship that develops between Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent, was the key to the movie. If the movie fails in this regard, and I agree with Jon that it does, it s due in large part to the inadequacies ofMichael Winner’s direction, which to me called more attention to itself than it did to advance the story.
To tell you the truth, though, I’d rather watch a movie like this than I would most of the current crop of CGI-enhanced blockbuster movies that have nothing they’re even trying to say.
January 6th, 2017 at 1:22 pm
This review got me to look up what happened to Jan-Michael Vincent, what a train wreck his life turned out to be. I only remembered him from back in the 70’s, and it seems pretty sad how things have turned out for him.
January 6th, 2017 at 10:08 pm
Charles Bronson movies seem to have been the place where directors’ careers went to die. This suffers from the feeling it’s less a movie than a template for a film that might have been more than it is.
January 6th, 2017 at 10:39 pm
I can’t say that I agree this time around. Winner and Bronson did go on to do DEATH WISH together, both high points in their respective careers, plus a couple of sequels.
March 15th, 2017 at 10:03 am
Nihilist films are difficult to comment on (and appreciate).