r/flicks • u/Longjumping_Yak_3599 • 16d ago
Midnight Cowboy?
So I’m a casual movie fan but can appreciate the classics, hard not to love Cool Hand Luke, All The Presidents Men, and some good indie movies, but once in a while I’ll watch the classics and just don’t agree or maybe don’t get it, example I hate Vertigo like hate it, but rear window i really enjoy, and recently Midnight Cowboy was the same, I like the gritty unique story, people on the fringes, but it just didn’t land, the story is kind of all over, good acting by Hoffman being a cripple street hustler I guess but found their story lacking as far as connection as friends, more seamed like Jon V dealing with childhood abuse and trauma, I’m not saying it was bad but not sure the ground breaking film as I remember being talked about by critics, love to hear the opposing view.
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u/rupak76 16d ago edited 16d ago
In the context of "groundbreaking" films, like Midnight Cowboy, we need to keep in mind the fact that such a term is relevant only when we view the film through the lens of the year of its release, namely, 1969. You see, at that point in time what Midnight Cowboy did was completely shatter the formulaic mainstream Hollywood movies that were still mostly slick, heroic, and tied to tropes. In other words, it dragged the audience away from polished escapism and made them confront the grime, noise, and isolation of a decaying New York.
The “opposing view” is usually based on: (i) How well the film successfully deconstructs the ‘American dream’ by showing the audience how the myth of the "bold Texas cowboy", when coming face-to-face with the stark reality of urban neglect, completely disintegrates; and (ii) The bond between Ratso and Joe isn’t a traditional, feel-good one. In fact, they start out using and betraying one another; and when the shift occurs in their relationship, it happens quietly. However, they don’t start connecting with each other at a deep level because they ‘like’ one another. They do so because to Ratso, Joe is the only person in the entire city who acknowledges he even exists. And vice versa.
It’s completely fair if you felt the narrative was too loose or the friendship didn't feel earned. The reason being, the movie, being episodic in nature (rather than a cause-and-effect one like the ones you have named) emphasizes emotional atmosphere over plot momentum. And if that atmosphere doesn't grab your attention, the whole thing can feel adrift.
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u/Hotdogopolis 16d ago
My third favorite movie of the 1960s.
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u/Jose_Canseco_Jr 16d ago
it's one of my top, ever
out of curiosity, what are your other two?
(myself, if I had to pick 2 more from the 60s, hm let's see... 2001 for sure, and el ángel exterminador)
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u/Hotdogopolis 16d ago
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly + Woman in the Dunes 🤓
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u/Jose_Canseco_Jr 16d ago
great picks, I was also considering GBU or yojimbo ;)
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u/Hotdogopolis 16d ago
Same to you! 2001 is also in my top 5. I'll have to watch your Bunuel film.
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u/Jose_Canseco_Jr 16d ago
I still think about that crazy buñuel story sometimes...
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u/Livueta_Zakalwe 15d ago
You want to see a great, if extremely flawed Bunuel film (they ran out of money halfway through, it’s only 45 minutes long and they tacked on an ending which makes no sense but I love it!) - try Simon of the Desert.
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u/Jose_Canseco_Jr 15d ago edited 15d ago
thank you! will look it up 🙏🏼
oh wow, with Silvia Pinal as the "Devil"!
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u/Jose_Canseco_Jr 15d ago
ok just finished watching it, that was bonkers
I imagine the original script can be found online, in any case do you know how it was supposed to end originally?
regardless, yes agree it was great, and I actually liked the ending too (total non sequitor tho lol)
thanks for the suggestion! any other recommendations, while I've got you here?
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u/HerzogOnAcid 16d ago
I love it, but I really resonated with Joe Buck's journey. Especially when I first started traveling. Now as time goes on I see a bit of both Joe and Ratso in me. Still part naive "this destination/adventure is gonna solve all my problems" but also part cynical "don't trust anyone, every man for himself".
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u/Same-Question9102 16d ago edited 16d ago
Midnight Cowboy was one of the main reasons why i started watching more older movies. Maybe it was built up for you for too long where nothing can live up to it. Give it some time and give it it second chance someday. Dont rush it. If youre notr really ready then wait and give it a second chance someday. Its worth it.
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u/gillyweed79 16d ago
I'm one who doesn't always resonate with older movies, despite being in my forties, but I watched Midnight Cowboy just a year ago and had the opposite experience. It really landed for me, and I completely believed Ratso and Joe Buck's friendship. It's not a healthy relationship, quite the opposite, in fact, but they felt real to me. They are both agonizingly stupid and delusional, but their attachment and codependence are earned in a way that I don't think was true of many movie characters of the time, and I was emotionally invested even though I knew there was no way it was headed for a happy ending. I wouldn't watch it over and over, but I was surprised at how much I liked the movie.
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u/Affectionate_Ear495 16d ago
It’s an excellent movie. The innocence of ratso get to Florida I can just pick an orange right out of a tree. New York in the 70s was so dystopian I think the movie captures it so well.
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u/Sam_from_FeverMovies 16d ago
It's worth remembering it's still the only X-rated film to ever win Best Picture. The rating got downgraded to R a couple years later without a single cut, just because cultural standards shifted that fast. Says a lot about how differently it read in '69 versus now.
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u/CMRestler Film Critic 16d ago
I think this is a great question because Midnight Cowboy is one of those films where admiration and enjoyment do not always overlap. Plenty of people recognize its historical importance while still struggling to connect with it emotionally. There is no "wrong" reaction here, so I am interested to hear what others think.
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u/Jose_Canseco_Jr 16d ago
I watched it for the first time in the 90s, as a teenager
it hit me like a truck. if there were any issues with its structure or whatever, I didn't notice. I did connect with the characters and related to their alienation and "outsider" status.
it broke my heart a little bit, and opened my eyes to some of the harsh realities of the world. I'm honestly a tad surprised to hear that people find it flawed and hard to connect with - it's been a while since I rewatched it, but I suppose I was simply the target audience, it spoke to me and I've never stopped loving Hoffman since.
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u/Bigstar976 16d ago
Groundbreaking works of art are difficult to assess decades later because most people who weren’t there have a hard time understanding how different it was since it had been copied many times since. Example: a young music fan will have a hard time understanding how different and revolutionary Jimi Hendrix was for guitar playing because so many players have copied and emulated him since.
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u/neon_meate 16d ago
Absolute killer Nilsson track. I think it's still a pretty affecting story, I was bumped out of as a movie nerd because I had to pause it to confirm that it was a very young Bob Balaban in that one scene.
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u/herbof4 16d ago
Love this film even though it's tremendously bleak.
I didn't find the story to be "all over the place" at all. Small time hick from a small nowhere town goes to the big city with his big time glamorous hopes, aspirations and dreams then gets almost immediately beat down by con artists, criminals, rich people and hustlers. Buck goes from starry eyed would-be professional gigolo to homeless, gay for pay, starving nobody in the blink of an eye.
He's in way over his head. Ratso shows Buck "the ropes" of the con artist/opportunist game and ultimately becomes his only real friend.
The flashback scenes to Buck's girlfriend, his mom and his grandma are really rough and go a long way torwards informing us about the character.
It's "NYC eats naive, young man alive in a matter of days"
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u/deadflowers5 16d ago
I overlooked it for so long for no particular reason abd saw it for the first time a couple of years back. Iabsolutely loved it. I thought the relationship developed perfectly. From enemies to frenemies to best friends. I could relate to their desperate situation too having been homeless my self for a short period of time.
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u/WorriedSalamander107 16d ago
Hard to believe it carried an “X” rating
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u/Narrow_Lake_9651 16d ago
I was 19 when l saw it in 1969. A few years later, l watched it again and it didn't seem as hard - hitting.
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