Review #372: 'Two-Lane Blacktop' (1971)

Two drag-racers, named The Driver (James Taylor), and The Mechanic (Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson), travel across America looking for quick money racing their souped-up '55 Chevy. They pick up a hitch-hiker, The Girl (Laurie Bird), who they both form a strange attraction to. Meanwhile, a lonely and quite desperate man drives his Pontiac GTO (played by Warren Oates) and comes across the two, and they agree a race to Washington, D.C. for pink slips. While this is the overlying focus of the film, Two-Lane Blacktop is more of an existential odyssey across 1970's America following a group of misfit characters drifting through an increasingly alien landscape.

Very much a mood piece, Two-Lane Blacktop can now be viewed as a key film of 1970's American film-making, encompassing the feelings of both the young and the ageing. This is pure Americana - we see the beautiful desolation of Route 66, road-side diners, dusty gas stations, and empty, one-horse towns. There is minimal dialogue, but with frames and characters so beautifully empty, there is no need. The landscape tells the story. The open road was the focus of many films of the late 1960's and early 70's, many of them misconstrued as simply car-porn. Films such as Easy Rider (1969) and Vanishing Point (1971) channelled feelings of anger and the longing for freedom that were brought on by events such as the Kent State massacre in 1970, causing a generation gap and the isolation of youth.

Not to say there isn't car-porn on show here - the '55 Chevy is rusty and ugly, but the growl it gives out when revved is invigorating. The majority of the races and driving scenes are shot from the interior, allowing us to hear every mechanical clank and gear-change. But the main focus is on the characters. The Driver and Mechanic say little but tell their story with their eyes. They live for their car and care for little else. Although the Driver clearly has feelings for the Girl, he does little to truly act upon it, and therefore causes her to experience loneliness and the feeling of being used. But the most fascinating is GTO, played to perfection by the ever-reliable Oates. We see him at the start of the film telling the same story twice to one of the many hitch-hikers he picks up. He acts out of desperation, reaching out to anyone who will listen. It's a painful portrayal of a very human character.

Not a second is wasted in the film. Director Monte Hellman captures every single sound and feeling out of the most mundane situations, and we are therefore transported back to 1971 America. It is almost as if the film is about absolutely nothing, and maybe that's the point. These characters seem to be speeding to an unknown goal that will always be out of reach. Maybe they know it and maybe they don't, but as long as they get to drive, they're happy. An outstanding piece of 70's cinema.


Directed by: Monte Hellman
Starring: James Taylor, Warren Oates, Laurie Bird, Dennis Wilson
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie