The Getaway (1972)

(On Cable TV, June 2020) Ali MacGraw, as an actress, and The Getaway, as a film, both have something in common: they’re not particularly good, but they’re certainly striking and it’s not hard to see why they both created a fuss. The story of two lovers on the run, The Getaway is best known as one of director Sam Peckinpah’s biggest commercial hits, a union of this eccentric filmmaker with Steve MacQueen and Ali MacGraw (who began an affair on set and would eventually marry). It’s a big Texas crime story, as the two leads run for the border after a robbery gone wrong, and under Peckinpah’s attention the film inevitably turns very, very violent. Far too violent, even if standards have changed since then. Still, it’s better than most such films (and there were many of those in the 1970s)—while episodic, it’s filled with recurring characters and ongoing tension between the two lead characters. On a filmmaking level, it’s got some decent Texas cinematography, and it edited so snappily that it still works rather well today. MacQueen remains a limited actor, but he’s well in his range here as a charismatic tough guy. Meanwhile, Ali MacGraw has seldom been better—as mentioned: she’s not good, but she is definitely striking.