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Deliverance (1972)
Inspirational adventure is interlaced with stern reality in John Boorman's multilayered and incredibly perceptive thriller Deliverance. The simple story of four thirty-somethings who embark on a canoe trip on a river deep in the woods of Georgia and get more than they bargained for is a masterfully told story full of existential parables. Our modern and civilised protagonists go searching for nature and primitiveness in order to get closer to themselves, ostensibly, and end up battling humanity's crudest and most basic nature. It is when we have been stripped of our facades and social setting that we really find out what we are made of, claims James Dickey through his complex script, based on his own novel. Nevertheless, Dickey's story could easily have ended up as a mediocre film had the director not treated it with intelligence and sensitivity. Boorman realises the many aspects of the story and presents them carefully and delicately. Aided by the fascinating, secluded locations (principally around Chattooga River), Boorman was able to scrutinise human endurance, loyalty, and rationality in an intrinsically timeless manner. He also drew career-best performances from his actors, including Jon Voight's intelligent, sensitive Ed, and Burt Reynolds' unvarnished, forceful work as Lewis. For once, Reynolds evoked melancholy and emotion, not laughter and cheerfulness. Great work also from Beatty, Cox and McKinney conclude this haunting epic.
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