My impression going into Vanishing Point was that of a road-exploitation picture of the period. And thanks to movie-geek Tarantino Death Proof hyped up by having a kind of image-placement (ala yellow jump-suit in Kill Bill) that superimposed for those who hadn't seen it a sort of expectation. While I didn't quite get the mother of all car-crash pictures- there are a few, don't get it wrong- it is a pretty interesting work of its times. It doesn't get nearly deep enough with its main character as some symbolic point of a fall from grace from authority or of disillusionment with the period, but it's somehow still a cool little movie. There's a feeling that something is going on underneath, the subtext to the whole facet of speed that a person takes (uppers) going along with a kind of car ride that Dr. Gonzo would probably not attempt. At the same time Barry Newman fills in the role as enigmatically as possible; we're never totally sure what this guy's motive is to go for broke in delivering a car across states to a little s***-hole town at 100 miles an hour, which makes it part of the fun.
It's a high-stakes story of daring cop-chases, detour through a desert, help from strangers, and a fatalistic ending that seems more bizarre and shocking than that of an Easy Rider. Not to say much for plot, though the writers do inject a strange co-plot (not quite sub-plot exactly) with a blind disc jockey, played by a spot-on Cleavon Little, who keeps tabs with Kowalsky as if he were an angel on his shoulder. The director also fashions out with a superb DP (who also worked on Chinatown) a good way making things not ever go too lighting paced or frenetic, but giving some level of breathing room of the open spaces, the long stretches of road, the desert, the rural towns, even Kowalski's face. And the sort of straightforward-but-not attitude to Kowalski's mission, in light of his history, adds to the thrills.
If it's only a little disappointing it's that it hasn't aged as well as it should've. Maybe it's not exactly a fault- it's proud to be in the 70s, with moments of grass and that naked woman on the bicycle as indicators of a 'far-out' period- but, for example, should the rock and roll not always be a consistent point with the scenes? Some songs do stand out, and at times it's toe-tapping even, but not many. And the suddenness of the ending marks as almost a cop-out; it's just too easy a way to end the flick when it feels like a bigger climax awaits. Vanishing Point doesn't have dynamite storytelling, but it does have a dynamite attitude, positioning itself in the frame of a B-movie to make its mark with a terrific car and a bad-ass behind the wheel.
It's a high-stakes story of daring cop-chases, detour through a desert, help from strangers, and a fatalistic ending that seems more bizarre and shocking than that of an Easy Rider. Not to say much for plot, though the writers do inject a strange co-plot (not quite sub-plot exactly) with a blind disc jockey, played by a spot-on Cleavon Little, who keeps tabs with Kowalsky as if he were an angel on his shoulder. The director also fashions out with a superb DP (who also worked on Chinatown) a good way making things not ever go too lighting paced or frenetic, but giving some level of breathing room of the open spaces, the long stretches of road, the desert, the rural towns, even Kowalski's face. And the sort of straightforward-but-not attitude to Kowalski's mission, in light of his history, adds to the thrills.
If it's only a little disappointing it's that it hasn't aged as well as it should've. Maybe it's not exactly a fault- it's proud to be in the 70s, with moments of grass and that naked woman on the bicycle as indicators of a 'far-out' period- but, for example, should the rock and roll not always be a consistent point with the scenes? Some songs do stand out, and at times it's toe-tapping even, but not many. And the suddenness of the ending marks as almost a cop-out; it's just too easy a way to end the flick when it feels like a bigger climax awaits. Vanishing Point doesn't have dynamite storytelling, but it does have a dynamite attitude, positioning itself in the frame of a B-movie to make its mark with a terrific car and a bad-ass behind the wheel.