On the face of it, it's odd that this classic product of the 'permissive society' makes sex seem so nasty and repellent: furtive, joyless couplings in darkened rooms, with no smiling or even talking. But then in the second half it segues from one of the sleaziest films ever to one of the most romantic, and ends in a radiant glow. And maybe that's the point: the whole thing could be seen as a metaphor for the hopes of the 60s, escape from the dead hand of convenience and convention, into a life of happiness, freedom and love. Of course we know it didn't turn out quite like that, but it doesn't diminish the beauty of the hope.
It goes without saying that Simon & Garfunkel's songs are an integral part of it, one of the greatest ever rock soundtracks (well, maybe folk-rock in this case) and one of the few actually tailored to the film, rather than pre-existing tracks being played over the top. It sets the atmosphere of uncertainty and drift, and also acts like a Greek chorus commenting on the action (only a lot more foot-tapping). And besides, music was so important to the time; here it helps make up a complete and authoritative statement of the spirit of the age, cinematic, dramatic, musical and social.
There's a bit of an anti-jock as well as anti-square subtext, with that scene of ten identical dufuses in the washroom. And is this also the film which introduced the now commonplace convention, of romantic devotion being represented by running...?
It goes without saying that Simon & Garfunkel's songs are an integral part of it, one of the greatest ever rock soundtracks (well, maybe folk-rock in this case) and one of the few actually tailored to the film, rather than pre-existing tracks being played over the top. It sets the atmosphere of uncertainty and drift, and also acts like a Greek chorus commenting on the action (only a lot more foot-tapping). And besides, music was so important to the time; here it helps make up a complete and authoritative statement of the spirit of the age, cinematic, dramatic, musical and social.
There's a bit of an anti-jock as well as anti-square subtext, with that scene of ten identical dufuses in the washroom. And is this also the film which introduced the now commonplace convention, of romantic devotion being represented by running...?