By ERIC RED
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THE
MECHANIC
(1972)
Director:
Michael Winner.
Writers:
Lewis John Carlino.
Cast:
Charles Bronson, Jan Michael Vincent.
The best action movies
aren’t just car chases and shoot-outs. While it’s all about the action, the
genre supports stories with substantial characterization and strong
dramatic levels. A prime example is this terrific iconic ‘70’s Charles Bronson
film about a top professional killer, dubbed “The Mechanic,” who takes on a
younger apprentice who wants to learn the hit man trade.
The master
teaches his protégé the ropes and they begin doing jobs together. But when the
ambitious young shooter gets ideas about taking his mentor’s place, it’s just a
matter of time before they start doing what they do best to one another. In
Lewis John Carlino’s intelligent, ironic and original script, paranoia and
emptiness are occupational hazards for hit men and friendship between
professional killers is a liability they can’t afford. The taut little gem is
capped off with a cool 70’s abrupt final moment last second surprise ending.
There
aren’t any real movie tough guys like Charles Bronson around anymore. Our
excuses for action stars these days are multi-million dollar talent agency
espresso and lime twist pussies who rely on CGI and PR firms—-I’m not mentioning
any names. I’m talking real tough guys like Lee Marvin. Who’s left? Maybe
Mickey Rourke, who starred in my western, “THE LAST OUTLAW.” Or Takeshi
Kitano. Charles Bronson walked the walk, and would have talked the talk but he
usually didn’t say much. Didn’t need to. On screen, he looked like he could
really fuck you up because in real life he could, and when you see a Bronson
picture you watch a movie star who is totally convincing in a shoot-out, car
chase or fistfight.
Director
John Huston said Charles Bronson in person was “a grenade with the pin pulled.”
Bronson simply said modestly of his acting, he “provided presence.” That was an
understatement of an underrated screen actor. Brawny, wry, understated and
laconic, he projected formidability and balls. Beyond toughness, Bronson was an
actor capable of considerable subtlety and depth. But that was after he kicked
your ass.
The taut
opening credits sequence of “THE MECHANIC” grippingly establishes the efficiency
of Bronson’s professional killer Arthur Bishop during a hit he executes with
chilling clockwork precision. Bishop takes a cheap hotel room in a bad part of
town directly across from the target’s cheap apartment. Waiting until the mark
leaves, he breaks into the man’s place. With deliberate skill, The Mechanic
goes to the stove, applying a slow-working acid on a wad of chewing gum to the
pilot flame to cause a gas leak. Choosing a book in the shelf, he smears
plastic explosive in the pages, then puts it back.
Returning
to his room across the street, Bronson waits with frightening patience and a
high-powered rifle for his target to get back. Later, when the mark comes home
and falls asleep, the acid booby trap in the stove creates a gas leak. The
Mechanic turns sniper and fires single shot through the window into the book
with the plastic explosive and the gas-filled apartment blows to smithereens,
leaving no trace it was a hit. This opening sequence is an fine exercise in
economical filming using tight editing and minimal camera setups where director
Michael Winner and DP Richard Kline’s camera is in exactly the right place,
matching the deadly precision of its protagonist.
Loner
bachelor Bishop kicks back in his fancy contemporary house in a robe and pipe,
enjoying the rewards of being the best hit man in the organization. But the
edgy isolation and morbid precision of his profession is frying his nerves,
causing him to suffer anxiety attacks. The Mechanic needs a friend, and it
comes in the form of Steve, played by Jan Michael Vincent, the arrogant son of a
gangster Bishop hits. Steve is a nihilistic rich kid with surfer looks and a
fascination with death, an unusual connection that draws him into a friendship
with Bishop like a moth to a flame. Steve wants to be a hit man. The Mechanic
needs a backup. The training begins.
And then
the ultimate inevitable betrayal of Bronson by Vincent as the apprentice tries
to replace his mentor. Or is Bronson just being paranoid? When they go to
Naples for a big European job, only one will make it back. Or will they? Like
I said, this picture has one of the best final frame twists of any action
exploitation film, alone worth the price of admission.
“THE
MECHANIC” may be the first film to make the audience openly root for hit men
performing contract killings in several briskly staged action set pieces.
Because these cold-blooded icemen Charles Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent are
whacking bad guys, it gives the audience a get-out-of-jail free card to enjoy
these hit sequences without moral reservation. Of course, all film gangster
characters are either good/bad guys or bad/good guys, and in any crime picture
the audience is the accomplice, which is what makes the genre so popular.
Now, the
negatives. he production values and action scenes in this film are cheapjack by
today’s standards, and Michael Winner has pedestrian limitations as a director.
What sells this film is the smart Lewis John Carlino script and the cool
chemistry between the well-cast stars Charles Bronson and Jan Michael Vincent.
Mostly, it is the unique mano a mano psychological relationship between the two
hit men characters that make “THE MECHANIC” memorable and special.
“THE
MECHANIC” is a worthy entry in the classic fatalistic and ironic Hit Man Film
that includes great pictures like “THE PROFESSIONAL,” “LE SAMOURAI,” “LA FEMME
NIKITA,” and “THE KILLER.” Filmically, I love the kick ass era of the 1970’s
that produced elevated exploitation pictures like “THE MECHANIC.” My new script
“STOPPING POWER” which Jan De Bont of “SPEED” just signed on to direct this
summer in Germany is in the tradition those cool ‘70’s action films. We’ll get
someone great to star in it, but it’s too bad Bronson isn’t around. See you next
month.
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