A monster film that looks even better 30 years on. Steven Spielberg’s direction remains a delight of mise-en-scene and depth of field, the acting is top notch, the story a marvel. They do so many things in this movie so well it makes you wonder “why don’t they do it again?” Not the vicious-creature-killing-people story, that’s been done to death, but other things – like have an interesting non-creature plot with an human antagonist (the mayor) who, while he is a baddie, is given a believable motivation (to keep the beaches open), make a film with three good actors rather than three stars (you you’re never sure who’s going to live); have a hero (Roy Schneider) who is a kindly family man not a superhero or a tormented divorcee/alcoholic (Schneider wasn’t a star at the time – if they made the film now you’d probably need one and he’d insist on some acting challenge like a tormented past so he could seek redemption eg Tom Cruise in War of the Worlds, as if it isn’t just as hard to play normal); spend some time with the characters (eg Robert Shaw’s marvellous monologue); make normal domestic scenes interesting (eg wonderful moment where Schneider’s son copies his gestures, vignettes of life on the island); develop the characters so they have camaraderie (e.g. the three guys on the water), warmth (Lorraine Gray and Schneider) and funny, believable conflict (e.g. Shaw vs Dreyfuss on the boat).
Occasionally the shark does look fake, but I’d prefer an honest fake shark to some dodgy CGI number. Schneider and Richard Dreyfuss are excellent, but Lorraine Gray is awkward (she was the studio boss’s wife so she earned her keep by ensuring Spielberg didn’t get fired) and Shaw’s performance is richly-cut ham – but admittedly it does work in the film. Shooting it at sea was a nightmare but pays off in spades. One of the best third acts ever.
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