Yesterday, TCM ran one of my favorite sci-fi thrillers of the seventies, The Stepford Wives. It belongs to a category of movie not often made, a satirical thriller in which the satire is played straight, rather than for outright laughs, and the thriller aspect is methodical, slow, patient. I’ve written up thrillers before, as it’s a movie category I love, and lately, as in the last twenty years or so (“lately” tends to cover a lot of ground for me), the movie world seems to think “thriller” means every second must be filled with action. That would, of course, be an action movie and even they now have far too much action for my taste. Action to me is only exciting if it is sporadic and explosive from the longer story development around it. If it’s practically every scene, boredom quickly takes over. But nothing beats a thriller that understands the true thrill is watching something come together, one step at a time.
As mentioned above, The Stepford Wives is a favorite of mine and most of that comes from the patience it has in slowly revealing the story to its viewer. There are very few stunning revelations that slap the viewer in the face. Instead, there are little details, like the mention of one of the husbands formerly working on animatronics at Disney, or when Joanna (Katherine Ross) begins to notice how respectful all the women in town are of their husbands. There are, of course, some shocking moments too but the movie wisely holds them off for the climax. And it’s because of that that Joanna’s shocking reveal of the true nature of her suddenly changed best friend Bobbie (Paula Prentiss) has such an impact. Once there, the movie can then give us a few more but brings it back down for a final scene that plays as horrifying for the simple fact that it is played so patiently and quietly. The Stepford Wives outdoes the book, in my opinion, with an atmosphere of unrushed, suburban serenity that the book achieves as well but not to the same effect.
Another classic example of a slow building thriller is another all time favorite of mine, The Day of the Jackal. Interestingly, both this and The Stepford Wives had remakes that qualify as two of the worst remakes I’ve ever seen. Part of that problem was the fact that the editing in the remakes sped things along, not trusting the audience to be pulled in by the slowly building tension. In the original Day of the Jackal, there is barely a fast moving scene anywhere in the movie. The thrill of this particular thriller is watching the Jackal (Edward Fox) meticulously plot out every move as he goes. There is nothing he doesn’t do without thinking it through first and if he has to act on the fly, the plan for such an occasion has already been well formulated. He may have to switch cars unexpectedly but he is not unprepared. He has the paint gun and new tags necessary to change the car he’s in to another car that won’t fit the description of his previous car at all. If he has to dispose of a witness, he has the lethal methods at hand that are silent, quick, and clean. Even at the very end, as he carefully pieces his gun together to commit the assassination he was hired for, the camera watches patiently, only becoming frantic as the police in pursuit of him enter the building.
Now here’s a case where I think both the original and the remake are worthwhile but the remake is better: The Wages of Fear and Sorcerer. If you haven’t seen either, I recommend both wholeheartedly but I prefer William Friedkin’s remake to Henri-George Clouzot’s orginal. Both, however, take their time developing the backstory for the characters as well as the main story of the transport of nitro glycerin over dangerous and rocky terrain by truck. Because of the methodical nature of both, the scenes of peril, when they come, are harrowing to say the least. Both films do an excellent job of making most of the ride uneventful in order to make the treacherous turns, oil pits, and rickety rope bridges that much more terrifying to watch. Both films also fool the audience into thinking a happy ending is the reward only to turn it around in the last frame.
Finally, in what I think is my favorite slow building thriller of all time, The Third Man takes the slow reveal to extraordinary lengths and remarkable payoffs. For most of the first half of the movie, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) is in a state of bewilderment. His friend is dead and he is told that the very same friend was black market dealer in diluted penicillin that killed people, including children. It’s only after Holly has discovered almost everything he can about his former friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles), that Lime appears and takes the movie in a whole different direction. It becomes a thriller but in which the moral dilemma of the main character is the catalyst for the climax, not a race against time. The movie does indeed climax with a chase, and a damn good one at that, but it has earned that action through two hours of incredible story build up. And it’s final scene defines patient observation as payoff. An astounding movie.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good fast paced thriller too. North by Northwest has been, is now, and will always be near the top of my life for favorite movies. It’s great, there’s no doubt. But the slow and methodical thriller is a rarer breed these days (even in the old days) and one well executed is always a pleasure to behold. They don’t come around as often as the fast ones which is why we have to treasure the ones we have. And be patient as we wait for more.