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Sugarland Express, The
Goldie Hawn and William Atherton kidnap a cop then go on the run in Steven Spielberg's 1974 big screen debut
Although 1971's made-for-TV Duel is widely assumed to be Steven Spielberg's cinematic debut, in fact it was this film, which was released in cinemas a year before Jaws to mild rather than wild acclaim. A modest road-movie laced with wry comedy and unobtrusive satire, The Sugarland Express lacks the grandeur of Terrence Mallick's Badlands or the intimacy of George Lucas's American Graffitti - two films by Spielberg's peers that it most closely resembles. However Spielberg's economic handling of the action and his precocious visual flair, combined with an effervescent Goldie Hawn, make this a touching lovers-on-the-lam caper that's artful but never contrived, and which avoids the sentimental excess of Spielberg's later work. Lou Jean (Hawn) is the desperate Texan wife who busts husband Clovis (Atherton) out of jail eight months into a year-long sentence. Her plan, insofar as she has one, is to reclaim possession of their baby son who's been placed with foster parents in nearby Sugarland. Lou Jean and Clovis aren't the sharpest tools in the box and in a moment of panic steal a car, then kidnap young highway patrolman Maxwell Slide (Sacks). Before long the entire Texan police force is after them, the media is tracking their every move and the couple are basking in the rosy glow of celebrity - circumstances that give way to tragedy and an unexpectedly melancholic finale. Though the film is based on real events, the couple's bumbling, klutzy charm precludes any of the dramatic urgency or violent excess associated with the comparable Bonnie And Clyde. Instead Spielberg lets the story unfold at its own pace, invests the dialogue with pleasing zip, and demonstrates a level of visual ingenuity that becomes the film's great strength. As well as some deftly choreographed traffic management, at least two sequences point to future greatness; during a stately 10mph car chase, background and foreground collapse into one another as a phalanx of patrol cars rises towards the brow of a hill; and in a moment of understated but genuine poignancy, Clovis provides the sound effects for a 'Road Runner' cartoon reflected in the couple's motel window. Hawn's performance announced a move away from comedy towards more complex drama. Over time the dizzy blonde shtick would become familiar but here it's remarkably fresh and she's pivotal in maintaining focus. It's this, combined with the clear delight Spielberg takes in his first big-budgeted stint behind the camera that makes The Sugarland Express such a rewarding and timeless debut. Verdict Low key but likable Texan caper given weight and depth by Goldie Hawn's sprightly performance and Spielberg's unique visual flair. |
