Steve MacQueen

  • The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

    The Cincinnati Kid (1965)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, October 2021) My disadvantage in watching poker movies is that (and hush, because this passes for a dishonourable secret), I don’t really understand poker. Not being a gambler nor having any poker-playing friends to entertain, I get the basics of the game and some of the better hands, but don’t ask me to explain the finer details of the game. And yet, the paradox is that I generally like poker movies: you don’t have to know exact odds to be fascinated by bluffs and high stakes. It helps that The Cincinnati Kid has plenty to offer even to non-poker players: Steve MacQueen in fine roguish form as a hotshot player about to rub shoulders with the best; Ann-Margret as a seducer; Edward G. Robinson in a great late-career performance as a notorious card shark; a rather convincing portrayal of New Orleans’ atmosphere. The period detail is interesting as well, but it quickly fades into the background once the cards are dealt and we’re back with the timeless high stakes of romance, cheating, deception and showmanship. Classic Hollywood legend Joan Blondell shows up in a small but memorable role, while director Norman Jewison marks this film as the one that broke him out of light comedies into the unpredictable blend of genres that marked the rest of his career. The similarities with the near-contemporary The Hustler are numerous, but despite knowing a lot more about pool than poker, I like The Cincinnati Kid best: the colourful cinematography is more appealing, MacQueen outdoes Newman in this specific case, and the ending seems gutsier and more meaningful as well. While not as compelling or steadily entertaining as other similar films, The Cincinnati Kid has nonetheless aged rather well, and remains accessible even to those who can’t quite distinguish their flushes from their suits.

  • The Honeymoon Machine (1961)

    The Honeymoon Machine (1961)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, November 2020) We don’t naturally associate Steve MacQueen with comedy, but The Honeymoon Machine does offer him a good showcase for his persona in a more lighthearted context. Here, he plays a hustler-type US Navy sailor who sees an opportunity when his ship, equipped with a super-powerful computer, docks at a fantasy version of Venice complete with a casino and a luxurious hotel suite. Dragging fellow crewmembers into his burgeoning scheme, he rents the suite, gets the cooperation of the computer expert, brings in the necessary equipment to communicate with the ship and finds a way to crack the probabilities of roulette. Things get funnier and more complicated when the admiral’s daughter stumbles into the suite, when the computer operator’s old flame resurfaces, when the admiral launches an investigation into unauthorized ship-to-shore communications and when even the Russians grow concerned about what’s happening with the Americans. Before long, The Honeymoon Machine (adapted from a Broadway play) has several spinning plates all crashing into each other in comic complications. MacQueen is his usual cool and likable self, except playing for farce this time around and being good at it—even if he reportedly walked out on the film’s sneak preview. Meanwhile, Paula Prentiss looks gorgeous in her character’s thick-rimmed glasses, even with the film making a few jokes about it. The Honeymoon Machine is not a good movie, but it’s a fun one—it’s very much in-line with a stage-bound farcical tradition and is well worth rediscovering from Hollywood’s archives. Plus, there’s a MacQueen in a rare comedy role, which isn’t the least of the film’s charms.

  • The Getaway (1972)

    The Getaway (1972)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (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.

  • Widows (2018)

    Widows (2018)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, July 2019) At first glance, it felt strange to have acclaimed writer-director Steve MacQueen tackle a seemingly straightforward thriller project—his movies so far aimed at more mainstream dramatic sensibilities. But “let’s wait and see” is the right kind of attitude in response to such news, and from the get-go Widows proves that MacQueen certainly know what he’s doing. Delivering on thrills while digging far deeper in its characters than most genre films, Widows tackles the heist genre with a desperate urgency for its soon-to-be-destitute characters, delivering car chases and suspense while offering a plot where a surprising number of characters aren’t always what they seem. Genre expectations are frequently dashed, whether we’re shown a municipal race where white-heir vs. black-activist isn’t a straightforward choice, where initial character impressions are misleading, and where we’re offered quite a different heist team than usual. Comparisons with Ocean’s Eight are instructive, in that Widows doesn’t think heists are comic, goes for straight hard cash rather than fancy jewelry and spends much of its time in preparation rather than execution. The ridiculously talented ensemble cast is wondrous enough—Viola Davis is ferocious here, sometimes even sexy; Colin Farrell turns in a nicely nuanced portrait that goes beyond that of an antagonist the audience is primed to hate; Robert Duvall is remarkable in three short scenes; Elizabeth Debicki is a revelation (she’s a familiar face, but never used as well as here); Michelle Rodriguez fulfills some of the promise she’s had as a dramatic actress; Liam Neeson turns in an inversion of his usual action hero roles; and Daniel Kaluuya makes for a fearsome antagonist. But the MVP here remains MacQueen, who sets up some shots so beautifully that you only realize what they mean at the end of them, with long soaring camera takes and an ability to deliver exciting action sequences like a seasoned action professional. Widows is a complete and satisfying package for crime fiction fans—a socially relevant tale of heist and personal growth, using disfavoured and marginalized heroes to heighten the stakes beyond what they usually are. There’s a place for both the comic Ocean’s series of movies and for Widows, but since there’s been a death of Widows-like films lately, this one is a welcome sight.

  • The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

    The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2019) Even at more than fifty years of age, The Thomas Crown Affair remains the epitome of cool for several good reasons. The incredible pairing of Steve MacQueen and Faye Dunaway is reason alone to be interested, but there’s more. The film is extremely stylized, which is not something we necessarily expect from chameleon director Norman Jewison. This stylistic approach (all the way to a split-screen heist and a great soundtrack with odd choices that eventually make sense) more than compensate for some very light plotting, which seems more determined to bring the protagonists together and then drive them apart than making any kind of sense. The insurance investigator doesn’t deduce very much, as the plot manipulates her through hunches that happen to be right and the film’s ending interrupts what could have been interesting had it gone longer. But The Thomas Crown Affair is a film that revels in details, set-pieces and characters more than sustained plotting—the chess sequence is still impressive, and the sand buggy driving is made even more interesting by knowing that MacQueen did those stunts himself. The main character is emblematic of the film’s flaws and strengths, incredibly cool yet deeply flawed in interesting ways: As a highly successful businessman who turns into a criminal mastermind for thrills, he’s not exactly believable or approachable, but he is a grander-than-life archetype fit for MacQueen. The Thomas Crowne Affair is a film that could only have been made in the late 1960s (even the 1990s remake was a more controlled but less exciting take)—crammed with style and excitement, but not always so shiny under scrutiny. Still, it shows the burst of energy coursing through Hollywood at a time without falling into the excesses of New Hollywood, and that remains a good thing.

  • The Hunter (1980)

    The Hunter (1980)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (In French, On TV, May 2019) Steve MacQueen lived fast and died young at 50, after a mere twenty-three-year career as a leading man. The Hunter has the distinction of being the last film he did before his death from a drawn-out battle with cancer. He’s clearly older here than in the roles that made him famous, and the age is part of the point: Showcasing an older bounty hunter protagonist, The Hunter blends action and light comedy even from the first few scenes. Largely episodic in nature, the film takes us from one bounty-hunting assignment to another, in between domestic scenes showing the protagonist’s unusual lifestyle (but “cool”—because MacQueen), his struggles being an expectant father and a psychotic stalker taking aim at his pregnant girlfriend. The bounty-hunting episodes are far more entertaining than the more grounded and suspenseful domestic material: The farm combine sequence is a highlight, as is an extended chase in downtown Chicago that culminates with a car driving off the corncob Marina towers into the Chicago River. Too scattered to be wholly effective, The Hunter nonetheless has a few good action beats, and offers a glimpse into what kind of actor Steve MacQueen could have been had he lived longer: he clearly wasn’t going to let age make him look any less cool.

  • The Sand Pebbles (1966)

    The Sand Pebbles (1966)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Blu Ray, September 2018) It seems remarkable that The Sand Pebbles’ themes and overall attitude would dovetail so neatly with the then-worsening Vietnam War—adapted from a novel written years before and produced throughout 1965–1966, The Sand Pebbles does seem like a commentary on the American adventure in southeast Asia. Taking place aboard a gunboat tasked with patrolling the Yangtze River during the Chinese civil war, the beginning of the film isn’t overly dark but it does take place under a cloud of unease that’s far from the triumphant war movies of the 1960s—our protagonist (Steve MacQueen, in an unusually dramatic performance) makes few friends as he badly integrates with the crew, and many sailors are portrayed in an unusually negative way. Then the film turns into its second half, and things quickly get worse—our hero is accused of the murder of his deceased friend’s wife, with riots leading to a near-mutiny. Then, when tasked with rescuing American expatriates, the ship suffers heavy losses, all to find out that the missionaries are resisting their evacuation. Many people die on the way to the dark and fatalistic ending that suggests that Americans have no place over there. Many sequences are quite good—the near-mutiny alone is a small masterpiece of sustained tension. The Sand Pebbles may not be as exhilarating as many of the WW2 adventures of the time, but it clearly prefigures the much darker approach that war movies would take in the following decade with Vietnam being on everyone’s minds.

  • The Magnificent Seven (1960)

    The Magnificent Seven (1960)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, June 2017) There’s no denying that watching a 1960 western nearly sixty years later is not as immersive an experience as it was back then—our standards for what we consider naturalistic cinema have changed a lot, and the genre conventions of westerns have evolved accordingly. Many of the actors of the time are now dead, and a few live on as legends. This being said, The Magnificent Seven remains an interesting movie today largely because it was a superlative experience back then. The lavish production values still impress today, and the unusual script (avowedly based on Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai) remains intriguing today. But more than that, the movie stars such acting superstars as Yul Brynner (cool and terrific, even with his hat on), Steve MacQueen (playing up his rebellious persona) and assorted notables such as Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn and James Coburn in smaller roles. From a story perspective, the film isn’t particularly complex—there’s a long and relatively enjoyable first half in which the band of seven is gradually assembled, followed by a first and then a second showdown with the gang holding a village hostage. It’s not much, but it’s enough to get to the essence of the tough-guy western that this is meant to be. Brynner is nothing short of spectacular in the lead role, with MacQueen providing a good foil for him. Even today, The Magnificent Seven can be watched with some interest—although there are more than a few lulls here and there.

  • The Great Escape (1963)

    The Great Escape (1963)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On VHS, November 2000) Allied prisoners-of-war try to escape a high-security Nazi camp. Ingredient for a classic? Absolutely! A totally satisfying film experience? Not quite. If the first two-third of the film are a fascinating parade of clever ways to escape the camp, the film is dragged down by a depressing last third, in which the logical conclusion of the great escape (it ain’t a spoiler, it’s the title!) are played out. But don’t interpret that as an excuse not to rush out and grab the copy at your nearest video store: The Great Escape withstands the test of time quite well, with its top-notch technical credits, all-around great performances (Steve McQueen!) and nifty script.

    (Second Viewing, On Cable TV, July 2021) Clearly hailing from the war-is-an-adventure school of filmmaking, The Great Escape is never quite as good as when it details how a group of allied prisoners plot their escape from a Nazi camp. Much of the film’s first act is a pure procedural, as the locked-up allied flyers poke and prod at the camp’s weaknesses, find ingenious ways to plan their escape and react to unforeseen circumstances. The middle portion of the film is the escape itself, a tense but fascinating sequence in which a few of them make it outside the camp. It’s perhaps inevitable that the film loses some steam in the last third – if you accept the escape as the climax, the rest feels like an extended epilogue, and a somewhat grim one considering that many escapees are not brought back to camp. Still, The Great Escape does make for some fascinating viewing, especially when you start looking at the cast. It’s impressive how the film managed to find a place for a loner persona such as Steve McQueen’s, even in the middle of an ensemble cast. Otherwise, well, you get to pick from James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Plesance or James Coburn, among others. It’s fascinating to read about the real events that inspired the film – while many details have been modified or stripped away (including the Canadian participation, grump grump), a good chunk of authenticity has been kept after Hollywood’s alterations. It all makes for a film that has aged quite well and will continue to find fans for a while longer.