Number 350 on top 1000 films of all time is John Schlesinger's 1969 drama 'Midnight Cowboy.'
Jon Buck (John Voight) is a Texan cowboy who goes to New York to seek his fortune. As part of his hustle, he starts prostituting himself. He also strikes up an unlikely friendship with con man Enrico "Ratzo" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman.)
This film surprised me in many ways. At times, it was bold, and stylistically flashy, but at others, it was understated, subtle and quietly powerful. At its heart was the relationship between Buck and Ratso. Both are hustlers with Ratso very much being a mentor to the naive, starry-eyed Buck. When Ratso becomes sick, Buck starts to take care off him. As Hoffman is a method actor, I wouldn't be surprised if he went out and caught pneumonia for real.
But Dustin Hoffman and John Voight's relationship under-pinned the whole film. They had great chemistry. I enjoyed seeing them share the screen together. And it was great seeing them become closer and closer, as their fortunes worsened. That all built toward a suitably tragic ending. I won't go into spoilers, but I did like its under-stated nature. It was quiet and simple, which was all it needed to be.
All the louder, more dramatic moments were saved for the flashbacks that showcased the dark past Buck was running from. These were also shown in black-and-white making them all the more sombre. They were hard to watch, but well-shot all the same. This shouldn't be a surprise really. Midnight Cowboy went onto win three Oscars: Best Director, Picture and Adapted Screenplay.
Midnight Cowboy definitely surprised me. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but an unlikely friendship between a cowboy sex worker and a sick con-man was definitely not it.
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