Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

Really Surprised!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

James Taylor (known simply as "the Driver") and Dennis Wilson (as "the Mechanic") are two young men who drive around the country and--after sizing up the competition in various towns--make money by racing their '55 Chevy against the opposition. One day they pick up a young hitchhiker known simply as "the Girl" (Laurie Bird) and proceed on their way to the next town. As it so happens, while on the road the next day they repeatedly come across another driver (played by Warren Oates) in a G.T.O. who becomes angry because he feels that he is being challenged by them. So when both cars stop at a gas station somewhere in New Mexico they get into an argument and decide to bet their cars on the way to Washington D.C. Naturally, the G.T.O. is at a disadvantage because he is all by himself while the Chevy can change drivers whenever one of them gets tired. However, it's at this time that we learn more about each of the characters and personal conflicts soon emerge. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that what the film lacks in dialogue it makes up for in its depiction of the life along Route 66 during the early '70s. Because of that it enjoys a cult status among many viewers of this particular genre. That said, while it certainly isn't the best "hot rod film" ever made, it has its good points and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Two-Lane Blacktop is "all about image and performance". Guys like the driver and the mechanic are the only ones who understand what's under the hood. Hearing them rattle off various car parts is no less cryptic, or magic, than anything else they do or say.Between the motherfuckin' automobile races, the two friends barely speak. They are fixated on the road and nothing else. They'd rather listen to it than the radio. Even after a win, they remain stoic, unaffected, mechanically recounting the results and the car's performance. Conversely, g.t.o. can't shut up. He's desperately searching for anybody along the road he can lie to or a tape he can pop in. He doesn't want a conversation either, not a real one anyway.The little dialogue there is happens between core characters inside of their cars. The minor characters barely exist, merely garnish for the racetracks. One of the few introspective thoughts, g.t.o. drunkenly opening up, is cut short by the driver. "It's not my problem", he says coldly. Despite their differences, they're tied together. Their fixation on their rides, genuine or superficial, can't fulfill them. "If I'm not grounded pretty soon, I'm gonna go into orbit." "The girl" is the only character not identified by something car related. Neither of the men say a word when she hops in their Chevy uninvited. She breaks the silence for them. Her character's role as an object of desire might feel like "sexism or somethin'", but it's not. She's the satisfaction she sings about. The rich, middle aged liar with the expensive car can't buy her. The good looking quiet types with the homegrown street-sweeper can't win her or win her over. She's temporary: here one minute and gone the next. "She's gonna burn you, man" Riding off on a motorcycle, the hippie girl ends up where she belongs: with an Easy Rider headed back to the '60s.

For books it's words. Music, notes. Movies rely on sound and images to convey story. Two Lane is one of those that underscore movie elements (in this case via moody settings, disjointed dialogue) in its telling of a deceptively simple tale of four people racing in two cars across America.There is also the right amount of uncertainty, the kind that doesn't confuse you to distraction. It's subtlety done right and I've never been a fan - give me clarity, make it stupid is usually my credo. You never get the answers to some questions; this keyhole way of looking at things (people, actions, motivations) enhances the prevailing tone of the whole piece. Nowadays you get needless explanations and backstory. There is a resultant flatness to characters due to this endless outlining of someone's history. Two Lane is from a time when filmmakers had more trust that the audience will understand what they're seeing.It's lovely. If you give it a chance with an open mind you'll see it for what it is. Any movie is never about what it's about. In the case of Two Lane Blacktop, the movie is not about a cross-country race. For me it's about people discovering what they want by encountering all kinds of things they don't want.You can decide what it is for you.

A girl gets into a car; the owners don't say 'who are you?' or 'would you like a lift?' but drive off. She gets out the car and into another. She gets out and gets in the first car. She gets out and wanders around then gets back in another car. James Taylor stares meaningfully into the middle distance. This goes on for one hour forty minutes.Yes, we're in existential 'masterpiece' territory folks. I can never work out whether people claiming to love this type of film genuinely love it (in which case they're definitely seeing something I'm not) or they're pretending to for film snobbery reasons. Both types are out there I think.I could have directed this blindfolded and it couldn't have been any worse. I could never, in a million years, create a clever, profound, witty, insightful masterpiece such as an All About Eve or an Annie Hall or a Casablanca or a Quiz Show.Truly, the emperor has no clothes...