One of the few truly great American-made heist movies of the 1970, thanks to a combination of successful elements. First and foremost, there's the craftmanship of director Don Siegel, who takes a break from Clint Eastwood after four subsequent collaborations and easily manages to transform comedian Walther Matthau into a stern action anti-hero. Secondly, there are the stellar performances, from the aforementioned Matthau, but also from three giants in cool roles, namely Joe Don Baker, John Vernon and Andrew Robinson. Then we have the thrilling screenplay adapted from the novel "The Looters" by John Reese. Charley Varrick runs an unprofitable New Mexican crop-dusting business, but is a petty criminal on the side. Together with his wife and two companions, he plans for a modest bank robbery in a small town, but quickly realizes they are in big trouble when the loot turns out to be a massive sum that belongs to the mafia. Lastly, the film balances perfectly between suspenseful thriller and exhilarating action, with also bright flashes of subtle humor and parody. There's great suspense throughout, as well as intriguing characters and smart dialogues.
I referred to it twice already; the strongest asset of "(Kill) Charley Varrick" are the genius character drawings. Varrick himself is an intelligent and careful thief, but he isn't the robust type of action hero, which is aptly showcased in the sequence where he hides outside his trailer whilst his accomplice is in mortal danger. John Vernon supposedly depicts a heartless mafia bookkeeper, but he makes his character quite human, as illustrated via the "girl-on-the-swing" scene and the conversation with bank director Harold Young (an amazing scene!). Last but not least, the phenomenal Joe Don Baker as the mafia hitman Molly. Just as you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, you shouldn't judge a hitman by his first name. Molly is, hands down, one of the most merciless, intimidating and unpredictable villains of the 70s.
There's only one default that really annoyed me about this film, although I reckon it's also a disease of the era of its release, and that's the complete lack of strong women. The top-billed female protagonist (Felicia Farr) only appears briefly and immediately shares the bed with a perpetrator, another woman (Sheree North) caresses a man who slaps her in the face, and a third one is just a noisy old neighbor.
I referred to it twice already; the strongest asset of "(Kill) Charley Varrick" are the genius character drawings. Varrick himself is an intelligent and careful thief, but he isn't the robust type of action hero, which is aptly showcased in the sequence where he hides outside his trailer whilst his accomplice is in mortal danger. John Vernon supposedly depicts a heartless mafia bookkeeper, but he makes his character quite human, as illustrated via the "girl-on-the-swing" scene and the conversation with bank director Harold Young (an amazing scene!). Last but not least, the phenomenal Joe Don Baker as the mafia hitman Molly. Just as you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, you shouldn't judge a hitman by his first name. Molly is, hands down, one of the most merciless, intimidating and unpredictable villains of the 70s.
There's only one default that really annoyed me about this film, although I reckon it's also a disease of the era of its release, and that's the complete lack of strong women. The top-billed female protagonist (Felicia Farr) only appears briefly and immediately shares the bed with a perpetrator, another woman (Sheree North) caresses a man who slaps her in the face, and a third one is just a noisy old neighbor.