I didn't know what to expect going into this movie. I just knew it to be Spielberg's first. The concept is quite simple but effective: a thriller on the road in which a truck wants to kill the protagonist. It's a setup that works because of the geography in which it takes place. Endless roads in which a single other vehicle can cause a lot of disruption, whether it's in front or behind you.
Technically, Spielberg plays with a lot of tools. The blocking, zooms, changes in focal lengths, angles and so on, make the cinematography feel on edge. All around, it conceals a bit of the first movie technical issues. Some camera movements or shot selection feel jarring and would have felt worse with another setup. The sound design is good, although some added sound effects have aged a bit badly, as have a few transitions. Another weirdly offsetting point is the on and off narration to catch up with the protagonist frame of mind. It breaks the usual show don't tell guidelines but adds a bit of charm and uniqueness in my book so I didn't mind it.
The really unexpected strong point of the movie is the subjacent theme that looms over the action. The movie opens up with a man talking on the radio about feeling ashamed of not being the provider in his household and assuming a more traditionally feminine role. The protagonist laughs at him a little bit but we find out that he's also dealing with his own masculine inadequacies. First, he apologizes to his wife for a situation in which he didn't step up when she was almost raped. We also come to understand that he's a bit socially inept in ways that make his attempts to address his issue in the restaurant more difficult. He struggles to tackle the problem head on and is seen as the crazy one every time he tries interacts with someone else.
Thus, I couldn't help but read into his driving situation an allegory of his feelings about his masculinity. His car is smaller, defective, his radiator hose neglected. On the other side, the truck chasing him is massive, overwhelming in size and threat to himself, as is reminded by the flammable label on the back.
Overall, it's an okay movie. My reading of the theme made it more enjoyable despite clear technical flaws. One of the biggest downside is the pacing. Although it's only 1h30mn, the last quarter of the movie feels quite long because story beats are being rehashed. It would have worked just as well being 20mn shorter. 6/10.
I didn't know what to expect going into this movie. I just knew it to be Spielberg's first. The concept is quite simple but effective: a thriller on the road in which a truck wants to kill the protagonist. It's a setup that works because of the geography in which it takes place. Endless roads in which a single other vehicle can cause a lot of disruption, whether it's in front or behind you.
Technically, Spielberg plays with a lot of tools. The blocking, zooms, changes in focal lengths, angles and so on, make the cinematography feel on edge. All around, it conceals a bit of the first movie technical issues. Some camera movements or shot selection feel jarring and would have felt worse with another setup. The sound design is good, although some added sound effects have aged a bit badly, as have a few transitions. Another weirdly offsetting point is the on and off narration to catch up with the protagonist frame of mind. It breaks the usual show don't tell guidelines but adds a bit of charm and uniqueness in my book so I didn't mind it.
The really unexpected strong point of the movie is the subjacent theme that looms over the action. The movie opens up with a man talking on the radio about feeling ashamed of not being the provider in his household and assuming a more traditionally feminine role. The protagonist laughs at him a little bit but we find out that he's also dealing with his own masculine inadequacies. First, he apologizes to his wife for a situation in which he didn't step up when she was almost raped. We also come to understand that he's a bit socially inept in ways that make his attempts to address his issue in the restaurant more difficult. He struggles to tackle the problem head on and is seen as the crazy one every time he tries interacts with someone else.
Thus, I couldn't help but read into his driving situation an allegory of his feelings about his masculinity. His car is smaller, defective, his radiator hose neglected. On the other side, the truck chasing him is massive, overwhelming in size and threat to himself, as is reminded by the flammable label on the back.
Overall, it's an okay movie. My reading of the theme made it more enjoyable despite clear technical flaws. One of the biggest downside is the pacing. Although it's only 1h30mn, the last quarter of the movie feels quite long because story beats are being rehashed. It would have worked just as well being 20mn shorter. 6/10.
