On the Waterfront

The only thing I knew about this beforehand was a clip from the taxi scene on Youtube. It was so powerful without added context that I didn't expect much else from the film to interest me. As usual, I'm ashamed of myself. From the onset, we sense that Terry Malloy isn't comfortable with the brutal business he inadvertently involves himself in. He's positioned between his headstrong brother and a more headstrong nun-in-training. Because of his reluctance to pick a side, both parties look at him as a bum, a label Malloy has been trying to shed for his whole life it appears. Just look at Malloy's face every time he gets attacked at this obvious sore spot, Brando's restrained emotion tells the story better than any violent outburst ever could. All of these prods and pokes at Malloy's personhood beautifully build up to the taxi scene, resulting in a monologue that more than lives up to its critical acclaim. Not to be overlooked also is Kazan's masterful symbolism. Our antagonist, Johnny Friendly, is an uncaring, hot-tempered despot that suppresses the city's local dockworkers. These workers comprise a political underclass that toil in poverty. What keeps these workers in line is a fear of being outcast, blackballed(shoutout McCarthy), or worse. They are doomed to unlivable conditions as long as they remain obedient and take what is given to them. Neatly woven within the subtext is a call for political revolution(still waiting btw). Basically moral redemption + forbidden love + proletariat infighting + one of the best performances ever put to film = a legit classic.