The first film by Michael Cimino, he would follow this up with Deer Hunter (1978) four years later, and what a turn he took. With Deer Hunter he made an awards clamouring prophetic moody character study with intense performances by De Niro and Walken. Here in Lightfoot is a non-pretentious, even non-ambitious buddy heist comedy, and I mean that in the most positive way. Both films display great storytelling structure, and it saddens my heart to reminisce on the loss of such a great talent (and the less said about Year of the Dragon (1985) with Mickey Rourke the better).
Michael Cimino come back!
Anywho, Clint Eastwood and Jeff Bridges make a great team, Eastwood’s dourness well contrasting with Bridges sly grin. I would love to see a modern-day follow up (well, re-imagining I suppose considering the events of the film).
Eastwood is a thief looking to nab his latest loot from an undisclosed location, and Bridges is the mischievous and sometimes cross-dressing sidekick along for the ride. Like so many of the films of the 70’s, it isn’t the destination that matters, but the journey, and I must say that this journey was utterly enjoyable.
The only query I have with the film is its closing scene, which is uncharacteristically sombre and downbeat. It reminds me of the finale for Dog Day Afternoon (1975), which had a similarly light tone but concluded its tale on a heavy note (I just realized that note and tone have the same letters. Coincidence, I think not!). Why spoil the fun, I say?
I do, however, see why they did it. By concluding like this, we reflect on the tale more, and it endures inside us for much longer. I can’t help feeling a tad manipulated, that’s all.
In summary: check it out. Another forgotten gem worth [re]discovering.
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