Rating of
3/4
"Deliverance" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/18/12
Four city slickers go on a canoeing holiday in the backwaters of Georgia when they are attacked by a pair of gun toting mountain men. This sounds like a typical stalker-horror movie, but John Boorman brings a gritty realism to it that makes it all the more disturbing. Principally about the arrogance of civilized man (or more accurately, men) the four show little regard or respect for the locals, leading to a particularly grim encounter when they are completely stripped of the control over their own lives that they previously took for granted. Burt Reynolds shaves off his trademark moustache and takes a break from redneck comedies to deliver a career best performance as the alpha male of the group as they fight for survival in a hostile environment. Most memorable for the dueling banjos (nicely showing that these "backward" people are capable of great skill) and the grimly uncomfortable "squeal piggy" scene, this film has lost some of its shock factor, but is still a powerful and gripping watch.
