Delayed Reaction: On the Waterfront

The Pitch: Marlon Brando could've been a contender. Don't you want to know why?

A dockworker is subpoenaed to testify against a local crime boss and has to decide if it's worth risking his life to expose the corruption on the docks.

I kept getting distracted by two thoughts while I watched this. The first was that this reminded me a lot of the second season of The Wire. I mean, the only real connection is that both are about dockworkers, but that's specific enough to justify the link. The second thought was remembering the excellent episode of the You Must Remember This podcast about the making of the movie. That story is almost more interesting than the movie itself. There's a lot of Hollywood Blacklist backstory to the movie.

Say what you will about the Hays code era and golden age of the studio system, but that era got idealism right. I feel like every other movie I see from the 50s is about the struggle of one man to do the right thing (12 Angry Men and High Noon come immediately to mind). On the Waterfront still manages to get pretty dark. The message is universal. I get why this is such an enduring classic.

Terry Malloy is a great character. Of Brando's iconic performances, I think it's leaps and bounds better than Stanley Kowalski. (His work with Coppala is in a different category) I loved hearing the "I could've been a contender" line in context. I get why it is so remembered.

I feel like I need to do weeks of research about the political and social climate at the time this was made to really give it its due. Since I'm not about to do that,  I'll just leave it with this. The movie holds up well and I'm glad I finally watched it.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend