unseen gem

My wife and I saw this in the theater at the time of its release, and I've never talked to anyone else who's seen it. This is among Dustin Hoffman's grittiest work, and he is superb (I've read that this is his favorite of his own films). Gary Busey, a gorgeous 20-year old Theresa Russell,and the old pro Harry Dean Stanton are all excellent. This film is among my all-time favorites, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. Since reviews are required to be at least ten lines long, I'll add that it took me several minutes to recognize the young, skinny Kathy Bates, who was spot-on as Busey's justifiably concerned wife. I'm a fan of character actors, and M. Emmett Walsh is great as the asshole parole officer. I hope that this film will someday be re-released, ala Taxi Driver, and get a chance to prove itself to a new generation of audiences.

*

Author: xlp from Canada
29 January 2005

I wasn't expecting much from this film especially since it's only 6.9 on IMDb, and barely any posts about it, but don't let that fool you, this is probably one of the most under-appreciated movies i've ever seen in my life.

I really see why Dustin Hoffman is sometimes regarded as one of the best actors of all-time.. he had such a strong performance, so congruent and alpha. It's really a movie where you just GOT to keep watching to see what happens next, and it's well worth watching, you'll love it. I think if more people see it, it's going to be a "cult favorite".

8.5/10 GO SEE IT!

*

Author: secragt from United States
10 October 2003

Whatever the weaknesses of STRAIGHT TIME, the strengths render them meaningless. This is at the center a small story about a small man of no consequence in the world. Dustin Hoffman's character is never going to do Great Things with his life. He's probably never going to hold a meaningful job thanks to his criminal record. Whether it's due to the inequities of the system or his own character's weaknesses, it doesn't matter. He'll never have a family or make a contribution to society. But we still care about him. Hoffman's amazing performance makes us care and gives him meaning that few actors could imbue.

The storyline is slow and downbeat. Nothing good is going to come to the inhabitants of this movie. However, that is the unrepentant message of STRAIGHT TIME and it is delivered with amazing power and stark desperation. I can see why this sad premise was a commercial flop but there is not a single false note in the entire heartbreaking two hours. The stellar supporting cast features early roles for Gary Busey, Kathy Bates and M. Emmett Walsh. One of the great noirs of the seventies and a must see for anyone who is a fan of Hoffman or film noir in general.

* 

This modest movie captured the blown out angst of the 70's better than any other film and is a worthy addition to the great tradition of noir gangster dramas that began with High Sierra (starring Bogart). It is also a high point in Dustin Hoffman's career, perhaps his greatest performance. Unlike pictures such as "Rambo," it does not so much romanticize the violence as make the viewer pity the protagonist for his tragic choice. I wonder if any parolees who saw this movie decided to go straight rather than risk the dangers of returning to a life of crime. I also wonder if any parole officers who saw it were persuaded to be more humane in their treatment of ex-cons. Haven't seen one this good in a long long time!

*

Author: Rupert-15 from Wisconsin
17 August 1999

This is such a great film. The cast is so excellent. You've got Dustin Hoffman, who turns in one of his best performances, but it only gets better from there. Gary Busey plays Hoffman's buddy and husband to Kathy Bates-both excellent. Harry Dean Stanton (probably one of my favorite actors) plays one of Hoffman's partners in heist. His performance is right on the money as always. M. Emmet Walsh plays Hoffman's nearly inhumanly sleazy parole officer. Walsh does such a good job here too(I read somewhere that the Coens saw him in this movie and that was what led them to cast him in Blood Simple). Theresa Russell does a nice job as Hoffman's girlfriend. Eddie Bunker himself shows up as a bartender. It's no one wonder Tarantino would want to study this film-it's remarkable.

*

Author: jjm71 from United States
24 March 2005

A great film. Dustin Hoffman is at his peak here, and shows why he's one of the five greatest actors of his generation as he inhabits the character of Max Dembo, a career criminal who's just been released on parole. The movie is brilliant in it's pacing, as we see the layers of Dembo slowly revealed. We want to believe he's a good guy who just made a mistake ("I just want the same things everyone else wants..."), but as the film goes on we see one transgression after another that ultimately reveal to us that he may not be the man we thought he was in the beginning.

An excellent portrayal by Hoffman is at the center of the movie, but there is also fine work on display from M. Emmett Walsh (maybe the greatest character actor of all time) as his parole officer, and Theresa Russell (looking like she's about 18) as his naive love interest. Hoffman is brilliant in his interpretation of a prison lifer. Check out the scene where his P.O. throws him back in jail on a petty bust just so he can show Dembo who's in charge.

Walsh nails his part as the small man who compensates for his shortcomings by abusing what little authority he has (in other words, a dead on portrayal of almost all law officers), but Hoffman is absolutely perfect as he goes into his thousand yard stare mode while going through the jail house routine of frisking and delousing. The look on his face says "You can't hurt me because I'm numb". Very few flaws in this film. Hell, even the Randy Newmanesque music that plays throughout is perfectly suited. I was enthralled from the opening scene to the last, which is, fittingly, a series of mugshots of Hoffman's Dembo over the years. Highly recommend.

*

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
7 May 2011

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

After many juvenile detentions and six years in prison, the small time thief and burglar Max Dembo (Dustin Hoffman) is released on parole. Max has an initial friction with his nasty parole officer Earl Frank (M. Emmet Walsh), but the officer agrees to let him live in a hotel room if he gets a job within a week. Max goes to an employment agency and the attendant Jenny Mercer (Theresa Russell) helps him to get a job in a can industry. Max is decided to begin a new life straight and visits his old pal Willy Darin (Gary Busey) and his family.

When Willy brings Max home, he injects heroin and leaves his spoon under Max's bed. Max dates Jenny and on the next day after hours, he finds Frank waiting for him snooping around his room. Frank finds the spoon and sends Max to prison for tests to prove whether he had a fix or not. Despite the negative result, Frank leaves Max for a week imprisoned. When Max is released again, Franks gives a ride and presses him to tell who had a fix in his room.

Max hits Frank, steals his car and seeks out his former friends to restart his life of crime. Jenny lodges Max at her place and has a love affair with him. Max and his best friend Jerry Schue (Harry Dean Stanton) successfully rob a bank; but after a jewelry heist in Beverly Hills, where Max loses Jerry and Willy, he leaves California and Jenny and heads alone elsewhere.

"Straight Time" is a small gangster film that shows how impossible is to a smalltime thief to regenerate and begin a straight life in insensitive the American correctional system with abusive parole officers and no assistance to the ex-cons. Dustin Hoffman performs a criminal that is trapped in the underworld, supported by an excellent cast of veterans and promising stars. The twenty-one year-old Theresa Russell in her second movie is incredibly beautiful.

I have always been a fan of this talented but underrated actress that has an adorable voice and today I have recalled how gorgeous she was in the beginning of her career. M. Emmet Walsh performs his usual role of a despicable police officer. Gary Busey (with his son Jake), Kathy Bates and Harry Dean Stanton complete the great cast of this quite unknown film that has been just released on DVD in Brazil. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Liberdade Condicional" ("Parole")

*

"Straight Time," hoisted high by a brilliant and dexterous performance by Dustin Hoffman, pulls off a very unusual trick: It's one of the only movies in memory where a character we fully identify with turns out to not be such a good guy - and stays that way. "Straight Time" begins on Max's (Hoffman) side and shows us what appears to be a handsome, wounded soul suffering at the hands of an injustice legal system. But Max turns out to be no angel, and yet through the very end, we care about his fortunes and want things to work out for him. It's a brave and gritty role, and Hoffman, on screen the entire film, embodies it. Compare "Straight Time" to "Monster," and see that Lee Wuornos and Max Deblor are cousins. Both characters are labyrinthine in their depth, and both actors find the perfect pitch.

*

Author: John P from United States
29 January 2005

This movie creeps up on you, gets a kind of emotional hold on you and digs in through the end. Really, a terrific 70s style film (should have been made in 1973). Dustin Hoffman is outstanding. He gives an understated performance that fits the atmosphere of the movie, the story and himself perfectly. It is one of his best performances. Theresa Russell, and Harry Dean Stanton also deliver excellent performances. A very good example of how story, and acting that is true to the story, matter so much in making a good film. Urls Grosbard does a good job of establishing the mood of the film and carrying it all the way through, without hitting you over the head with unnecessarily forced dialog or drawn-out action sequences, etc.

* 

Excellent character study goes a little cockeyed near the end...

Author: moonspinner55 from las vegas, nv
29 April 2008

Dustin Hoffman is surprisingly serious, surprisingly gritty playing a recently paroled thief named Max Dembo who can't seem to straighten out his life. After meeting a new lady who is very supportive of him, Dembo reverts back to the only thing he really knows: robbery. Tough and vivid character study based on real-life convict Edward Bunker's novel "No Beast So Fierce" gives Hoffman a wonderful chance as an actor to stretch some technical muscles (he hadn't been this focused in years). Ulu Grosbard's atmospheric direction aids in Hoffman's triumph, as well as some flavorful dialogue (worked on by several writers). Theresa Russell is lovely as the smitten secretary in Max's life, supporting work from M. Emmet Walsh also good. The picture is marred by gaps of logic or credibility, not to mention by a tepid finale, but otherwise it's quite gripping. *** from ****