Straight Time

"Straight Time," hoisted high by a brilliant and dexterous performance by Dustin Hoffman, pulls off a very unusual trick: It's one of the only movies in memory where a character we fully identify with turns out to not be such a good guy - and stays that way. "Straight Time" begins on Max's (Hoffman) side and shows us what appears to be a handsome, wounded soul suffering at the hands of an injustice legal system. But Max turns out to be no angel, and yet through the very end, we care about his fortunes and want things to work out for him. It's a brave and gritty role, and Hoffman, on screen the entire film, embodies it. Compare "Straight Time" to "Monster," and see that Lee Wuornos and Max Deblor are cousins. Both characters are labyrinthine in their depth, and both actors find the perfect pitch.

We meet Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) as he is getting out of prison on parole after six years. He has an arrogant condescending parole officer (M. Emmett Walsh) but yet he seems determined to go straight. He is supposed to go to a halfway house, but the parole officer gives him one week to find a place to live and get a job. He does that - modest ones for sure, but they qualify. He also meets a girl at the employment office in whom he gets interested, a very young Theresa Russell as Jenny Mercer. Jenny seems intrigued with Max, given that he is upfront about his criminal past.

The parole officer puts Max back in jail for suspicion of drug abuse, and after his urine test comes back clean he is released, but he has lost his job and his room. Max decides to get even with this guy and, on the way to the halfway house, commandeers the car, drags out the parole officer, and handcuffs him to a fence next to the highway with his pants around his ankles. Max takes off in his car and it is clear LA hasn't changed that much in 45 years as nobody comes to the officer's immediate aid. Max is now forced to go back to a life of crime, but it doesn't seem like he needs that much prodding. Complications ensue.

You're not sure who the real Max Dembo is. You meet all of his friends, ex-cons themselves, and they are as complex as Max is. They have working class lives with kids, wives, and cookouts, but don't need the hard sell to decide to go back to crime. It's not a hard decision for any of them. And you can see how they all got apprehended in the past - they all have their rash, greedy, and violent sides.

You never meet any of Max's family of origin. Being in his 30s you have no idea if he ever had enough time on the outside to make some kind of family of his own. Neither is ever mentioned. So he is a complete enigma, known only by what we see in this film and his criminal history, which is shown in the end credits. It's a very gritty crime film and character study, and a good example of what kind of films could be made after the production code completely collapsed that would have been hard to make just ten years before when it had only recently been disposed of.

This modest movie captured the blown out angst of the 70's better than any other film and is a worthy addition to the great tradition of noir gangster dramas that began with High Sierra (starring Bogart). It is also a high point in Dustin Hoffman's career, perhaps his greatest performance. Unlike pictures such as "Rambo," it does not so much romanticize the violence as make the viewer pity the protagonist for his tragic choice. I wonder if any parolees who saw this movie decided to go straight rather than risk the dangers of returning to a life of crime. I also wonder if any parole officers who saw it were persuaded to be more humane in their treatment of ex-cons. Haven't seen one this good in a long long time!

Based on ex-convict Eddie Bunker's novel, No Beast So Fierce, pic pitches Dustin Hoffman as ex-con Max Dembo, who after being released from prison has every intention to go straight. Easier said than done, though...

It's hard to believe that Straight Time is often thought of as under seen, a hidden gem of the 1970s, this given that it stars Dustin Hoffman and the advent of the internet years has seen it garner votes and reviews aplenty. Yet it does seem to be a pic that doesn't get its due credit, annoying since it's one of Hoffman's greatest performances.

Hoffman loved the material and heavily sought to direct and star in it. Something which proved too hard for him to do. He was humble enough to recognise this fact and brought in friend Ulu Grosbard to direct while he concentrated on the acting side of things - result!

There is absolutely no glamour on show here, Max is surrounded by weasels, slime balls, junkies and perpetual thieves, while his own mental fortitude is suspect at best. It's both gripping and disturbing, this world he inhabits, no excuses are put forward, no "woe is me" tales, he ultimately accepts his lot.

Hoffman is backed by superb performances from Harry Dean Stanton, M. Emmet Walsh and Gary Busey, and Theresa Russell gives quality turn as the naive woman in Max's life - no token here, she's in the grip of a homme career criminal and not merely here to look pretty and doe eyed.

As a character study it positively bristles with brains and foolish brawn, and Grosbard directs with unfussy skill whilst showing a very good eye for a dramatic action scene. Studio interference would hurt the pic upon release, but now this can be seen as a film of great worth. 9/10

Whatever the weaknesses of STRAIGHT TIME, the strengths render them meaningless. This is at the center a small story about a small man of no consequence in the world. Dustin Hoffman's character is never going to do Great Things with his life. He's probably never going to hold a meaningful job thanks to his criminal record. Whether it's due to the inequities of the system or his own character's weaknesses, it doesn't matter. He'll never have a family or make a contribution to society. But we still care about him. Hoffman's amazing performance makes us care and gives him meaning that few actors could imbue.

The storyline is slow and downbeat. Nothing good is going to come to the inhabitants of this movie. However, that is the unrepentant message of STRAIGHT TIME and it is delivered with amazing power and stark desperation. I can see why this sad premise was a commercial flop but there is not a single false note in the entire heartbreaking two hours. The stellar supporting cast features early roles for Gary Busey, Kathy Bates and M. Emmett Walsh. One of the great noirs of the seventies and a must see for anyone who is a fan of Hoffman or film noir in general.