(1973, Schatzberg)

When Scarecrow premiered (and won the Ex-aequo award) at Cannes in 1973 Al Pacino had was hot off The Godfather and Gene Hackman had just completed The Poseidon Adventure and had already won an Oscar for his role in The French Connection.

Popeye Doyle and Micheal Corleone face to face, two of the stars of the decade jostling for position. Pacino, buoyant, having just had Francis Ford Coppola fight for him to stay in the greatest family saga of all time, would walk straight into Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon for Sidney Lumet and into one of the greatest acting careers in history. Hackman, himself was about to star in the masterful The Conversation (again for Coppola) and was (arguably) at the peak of his career.

So what’s this beautiful little dual character study called Scarecrow sandwiched, on IMDB between some of the most acclaimed and influential movies of the 70’s for two of its biggest stars?

The opening shot of Jerry Schatzberg’s little gem sees Ex-Con Max (Hackman) wandering down a beautiful yellow field under a gray American sky and climbing through a barbed wire fence to a chance meeting with another drifter, Lionel (Pacino). Hackman’s grouchy face and lumbering frame and Pacino’s boyish energy are a joy to watch. Even before the two have spoken a word to each other their chemistry is instant as an aloof standoff unfolds under the films opening titles.

The ice is broken when Max takes Lionel’s last match and they hitch a ride together. Lionel (or “Lion”) and Max’s conflicting philosophies on life slowly attract one another’s curiosity and over breakfast at a roadside diner (the most beautifully acted one shot scene ever?) the two quickly become partners in Max’s plans for a car wash business in Pittsburgh.  The pair drift across America in rail cars and on hay bails, through bar room brawls and, on the condition that Lionel stops in to see his unseen 5 year old child in Detroit, they head off in search of the smallest of dreams in the only way the truly great American films of the 70’s could allow.

Without giving too much away, the second half of the film goes to much darker places and Max and Lionel’s shift in character is both complex and sad and, as the performances harden, the obvious Wizard of Oz references seem to dissipate and leave the pair lost and (almost) hopeless.

It’s this shift that turns Scarecrow into a seriously heartbreaking film.

Its so easy to forget just how fragile, nervous and funny Pacino could be as an actor. Slowly, over time his tough older, professional, “yelling man” persona seems to have taken over and, although, sometimes delivering interesting characters (Insomnia, The Insider) his macho posing has overshadowed any real semblance of the subtle nuanced performances he was once capable of.

His character’s goofy clown like-humor in the face of Hackman’s, equally brilliant, brooding, awkward hobo entrepreneur is astounding. Its one of my favorite of Pacino’s roles and hands down my favorite of Hackman’s. After many viewings, Scarecrow has grown (along with Bob Rafelson’s The King of Marvin Gardens) to be one of my favorite under seen films of the era.  Hackman himself has commented on the film many times, stating that it’s his favorite of all his performances but that its commercial failure regrettably sent him looking for roles with less meat and higher pay cheques.

Its such a shame then, considering Hackman’s decision, because as a film it delivers perfectly. Schatzberg’s direction,  Garry Micheal White’s script and genius lens man, Vilmos Zsigmond,  lend their hand to every aspect of what made influential and thought provoking cinema in the seventies so great . What’s more they do so without a hint of over sentimentality;

Its all there; A beautiful character driven plot, flawed people struggling with smallest of hopes and that brilliant cutting undertone of post Vietnam self-doubt. That kind that had American writers and film makers suggesting time and time again that little Dorothy was dead wrong when she clicked her red shoes together and muttered those words; “There’s no place like home…”

Absolutely essential viewing.