The film follows 'Big' John Wintergreen (Robert Blake), a diminutively statured highway patrolman based in the deserts of Arizona. John takes pride in his work and does his job fairly and efficiently but also yearns to be promoted to the rank of detective and see some real police work. When he discovers the apparent suicide of an eccentric loner and, rightfully, suspects foul play, his opportunity arrives and he is taken under the wing of no-nonsense Detective Harve Poole (Mitch Ryan). This sets John off on a journey that makes him question justice, authority and his own sense of identity.
I really enjoyed the film. From an era in which Hollywood was seemingly torn in half by rebellious counter-culture movies such as 'Easy Rider' and hard-boiled Cop dramas like 'Dirty Harry', Electra Glide In Blue makes a bold step in placing itself somewhere in between these two camps. The film, like John himself, views both authority figures and free-spirited hippies with an even-handed face value, with neither side being demonised or exalted. The influence of Easy Rider looms heavily over the picture, not only in the stylised photography of the American landscape and the depiction of the motorcycle as the modern day outlaw's 'steed' but also with some knowing references to 1969 counter-culture classic, the film's ending cleverly mirrors that of Easy Rider but Guercio is quite blatant in showing that his film has a different agenda entirely (one scene features Wintergreen and his other officers using a poster of Hopper and Fonda as target practice at the shooting range).
Although Wintergreen is depicted as the films 'hero', he is clearly a flawed and complex man. He seems to be driven to achieve greater things by a kind of Napoleon syndrome, as his height (or lack of it) is referred to throughout the film, not only is he jokingly referred to as 'Big' John, there are barely any scenes in which he stands eye-to-eye with another character. It's only when he's perched upon his motorcycle does he feel equal with the rest of the world. This, ultimately, becomes his undoing as he clearly begins to resent the fact that, when away from his bike, he lacks the confidence and grit to be an able detective. At one points an exasperated Wintergreen says (about his motorcycle) "I'm here to tell you there ain't nothing' in the world I hate worse than that elephant under my ass." The film is ultimately about loneliness, escapism, aspirations and a yearning to find one's true self. The murder investigation that ties the film together simply acts as a macguffin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin- for those who aren't in the know) to base Wintergreen's journey of self discovery around. Another theme of the film is the ambiguity of justice and the middle ground between right and wrong as Wintergreen learns the difficulty of upholding the law without breaking a few rules, and his career aspirations become tainted as he fights against the apathy and corruption of his fellow police officers. This is a film which has neither good guys or bad guys.
As well as having a strong narrative structure the film is wonderfully photographed and it's a shame that, to this date, this is the only film that John William Guercio has directed as he shows a real flair for film-making. He establishes scenes by focusing on peripheral information as opposed to putting the main action right up front. The story unfolds at a gradual pace and Guercio uses the breathtaking Arizona landscapes as a character itself to highlight Wintergreen's isolation and loneliness (both of these aspects reminded me strongly of the work of Terrence Malick). The film also uses some wonderfully stylised sequences to set up the scenario and the opening credit sequence, in which Wintergreen meticulously puts on his highway patrolman's uniform seems to fetishise the appearance of the motorcycle cop (surely referenced by the T-1000 in James Cameron's Terminator 2- Judgement Day?) I thoroughly enjoyed Electra Glide In Blue and can find only a handful of flaws with it. There are a couple of sequences that seemed out of step with the rest of the film- There is a frenetic stunt-laden chase scene that, although it impresses individually, seems to jar with the philosophical nature of the rest of the film. Another scene, in which a waitress is revealed to be the object of affection of both Wintergreen and Poole seemed to drag a little and could have easily ended up on the cutting room floor without greatly affecting the structure of the film.
But all-in-all a very well made and interesting film. Robert Blake gives a brilliant performance, the pacing of the film and the dialogue hold up well and the cinematography is superb. It also features an exceptionally memorable final shot.
9/10
Now, I know James William Guercio has never made another film but has Robert Blake done anything interesting lately?.......
I really enjoyed the film. From an era in which Hollywood was seemingly torn in half by rebellious counter-culture movies such as 'Easy Rider' and hard-boiled Cop dramas like 'Dirty Harry', Electra Glide In Blue makes a bold step in placing itself somewhere in between these two camps. The film, like John himself, views both authority figures and free-spirited hippies with an even-handed face value, with neither side being demonised or exalted. The influence of Easy Rider looms heavily over the picture, not only in the stylised photography of the American landscape and the depiction of the motorcycle as the modern day outlaw's 'steed' but also with some knowing references to 1969 counter-culture classic, the film's ending cleverly mirrors that of Easy Rider but Guercio is quite blatant in showing that his film has a different agenda entirely (one scene features Wintergreen and his other officers using a poster of Hopper and Fonda as target practice at the shooting range).
Although Wintergreen is depicted as the films 'hero', he is clearly a flawed and complex man. He seems to be driven to achieve greater things by a kind of Napoleon syndrome, as his height (or lack of it) is referred to throughout the film, not only is he jokingly referred to as 'Big' John, there are barely any scenes in which he stands eye-to-eye with another character. It's only when he's perched upon his motorcycle does he feel equal with the rest of the world. This, ultimately, becomes his undoing as he clearly begins to resent the fact that, when away from his bike, he lacks the confidence and grit to be an able detective. At one points an exasperated Wintergreen says (about his motorcycle) "I'm here to tell you there ain't nothing' in the world I hate worse than that elephant under my ass." The film is ultimately about loneliness, escapism, aspirations and a yearning to find one's true self. The murder investigation that ties the film together simply acts as a macguffin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin- for those who aren't in the know) to base Wintergreen's journey of self discovery around. Another theme of the film is the ambiguity of justice and the middle ground between right and wrong as Wintergreen learns the difficulty of upholding the law without breaking a few rules, and his career aspirations become tainted as he fights against the apathy and corruption of his fellow police officers. This is a film which has neither good guys or bad guys.
As well as having a strong narrative structure the film is wonderfully photographed and it's a shame that, to this date, this is the only film that John William Guercio has directed as he shows a real flair for film-making. He establishes scenes by focusing on peripheral information as opposed to putting the main action right up front. The story unfolds at a gradual pace and Guercio uses the breathtaking Arizona landscapes as a character itself to highlight Wintergreen's isolation and loneliness (both of these aspects reminded me strongly of the work of Terrence Malick). The film also uses some wonderfully stylised sequences to set up the scenario and the opening credit sequence, in which Wintergreen meticulously puts on his highway patrolman's uniform seems to fetishise the appearance of the motorcycle cop (surely referenced by the T-1000 in James Cameron's Terminator 2- Judgement Day?) I thoroughly enjoyed Electra Glide In Blue and can find only a handful of flaws with it. There are a couple of sequences that seemed out of step with the rest of the film- There is a frenetic stunt-laden chase scene that, although it impresses individually, seems to jar with the philosophical nature of the rest of the film. Another scene, in which a waitress is revealed to be the object of affection of both Wintergreen and Poole seemed to drag a little and could have easily ended up on the cutting room floor without greatly affecting the structure of the film.
But all-in-all a very well made and interesting film. Robert Blake gives a brilliant performance, the pacing of the film and the dialogue hold up well and the cinematography is superb. It also features an exceptionally memorable final shot.
9/10
Now, I know James William Guercio has never made another film but has Robert Blake done anything interesting lately?.......