Klute (1971)

Six months after a Pennsylvania businessman disappears, family friend and detective John Klute is hired as a private investigator to pursue the case. Klute tracks down the only lead in the case, a New York escort named Bree, and quickly deduces that she might be in danger. The two end up in a power-struggling relationship that is both passionate and contentious, while Klute tries to piece together what actually happened.

Klute is a brilliant blend of dark detective fiction and romantic drama, with a career-best performance from Jane Fonda; Bree is sexy, confident, and charming - but also struggling with deep issues of trust and commitment. Her evolving relationship with Klute so brilliantly portrays the many facets of her personality, beginning with attempts at manipulation, that slowly give way to a sore and trepidatious love.

Klute is the first part in director Alan Pakula’s thematic “paranoia trilogy”, followed by The Parallax View and All the President’s Men, in which conspiracies, surveillance, and paranoia serve as central themes and plot points. Klute does this with precision, using its music and cinematography to create an atmosphere of impending danger and anxiety, elevated by great naturalistic performances from Fonda and Sutherland. The film feels decades ahead of its time cinematically, with clever and modern techniques that will be further elevated by returning to the big screen, 53 years after its premiere.

Spoken language: English

Subtitles: None

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