On the Waterfront Film Review

Annabel
Mrs. Burgess
Enriched English 10
27 November 2007

On the Waterfront Film Review

The film, On the Waterfront is the story of a man, Terry Malloy, who worked for the mob that was controlling the docks of New York. After Terry indirectly took part in killing the innocent brother of Edie Doyle, he began to question his loyalty to and respect of the mob. Terry also began to question the way the waterfront workers were being treated. In the end, Terry followed his instinct and defeated mob leader, Johnny Friendly. Overall I thought the story was very good. The film was always suspenseful, and you were never bored when watching. The film was very effective in making you think about what was right and what was wrong. You understood the ethical dilemma Terry faced, and why anyone like him would feel that way.

The literary aspects such as symbols, theme and setting helped you to further understand the film. The setting of the movie took place in several locations in New York like bars, alleys, Terry’s rooftop, a church, and most importantly the waterfront. On the waterfront you saw the poor conditions, which showed really how badly the workers were being treated. The shack the mob members occupy demonstrated how private and secretive the mob was and how little work they actually did especially when compared to the longshoremen. While the workers labored long hours for little pay, the mob members just lounged around, profiting off the work of others, and becoming more and more powerful. One symbol in the film was when Father Barry and Timothy Dugan are riding up on the crane after Dugan died. As the mob watches them, they seem like a Christ figure as they move up to the sky. This could be symbolizing the guilt people felt after killing an innocent man (Dugan is like Jesus here) and could suggest that Dugan died for a higher purpose. Also, this scene reminds the viewer of Jesus’ resurrection. In the resurrection, although Jesus died, what he died for still lived on. Similarly, even though Dugan is dead, the fight against the mob continues, giving Dugan’s death meaning to those left behind. Lastly, the theme in the story was to do what you believe is right even if it means you break the rules in your community. When Terry chose to help the waterfront workers and Edie instead of keeping his loyalty to the mob, he demonstrates this. This theme is also evident when Charley lets Terry go, even though Charley knows he will be disliked, and maybe even killed. While a movie is like a book in having literary aspects, it is different in that it has dramatic aspects.

The dramatic aspects in the film really aided to the success of On the Waterfront. One aspect, the actors, helped you to understand the story better from each of their views, and portrayed how they saw the problem at hand. Terry, being the protagonist, had the greatest impact on the viewer. Marlon Brando, the actor chosen for Terry’s part did an outstanding job. Brando depicted Terry as an unintelligent, oblivious, once seemingly emotionless man, until the end of the film. Brando’s great performance shows us how over the story Terry developed into a more compassionate and intelligent person, becoming less self centered and more aware of the world and people around him and how they are affected by the evil actions of the mob. Especially when he meets Edie, Terry realizes how he had fallen into the mob’s trap, and became emotionless to the pain and suffering of others. Edie Doyle, played by Eva Marie Saint, was another great casting choice. Being the only female, Saint’s performance needed to stand out, and it did. Saint expressed Edie’s trait of determination and independence to emphasize how different Edie was than any other women of the time. Lastly, Father Barry, played by Karl Malden was the conscience of the movie, caring only about doing the right thing and not the worldly consequences of doing so. Malden’s warm smile and intense stare turns the priest into the personification of morality that helped the entire story develop. Without his great acting, Father Barry would not seem as determined and persuasive to the viewers, and would not show how passionately Farther Barry wanted to end the problems on the waterfront.

One other dramatic aspect is costume and makeup. Even in black and white, the ragged clothing and dirty and torn up men are emphasized and striking. In contrast, there is the rich mob. The mob characters throughout the movie were dressed in sharp suits and nice clothing, which they could buy with the money they “earned” from not doing anything, taking advantage of the real workers. The differing costumes underline the unfairness of the mob’s rule and the need for change.

The last important aspects of film are cinematic aspects, including distance and angle of shots, camera movement, and sound. Camera angles were used frequently in the film to show power. At the beginning of the movie, just before Joey Doyle is pushed off, there was a low angle to show the power in the mob members on the rooftop. At the end, the power switched, and there was a high angle, where Terry was looking down at Johnny Friendly after he lost his power when the waterfront workers united. Also in the end, the camera movement was significant. The camera moved around in circles as Terry walked injured into the gate. This gave you a feeling of looking through his eyes. Lastly the music in the movie was very relevant to the mood. For example, when Charley was being driven into a garage to be killed, the music was suspenseful and made you anxious to see what would happen. Without each and every one of these aspects, viewers would not feel the same when watching the movie. These effects made the movie more interesting and without them it would lack excitement.

On many levels, On the Waterfront, and All My Sons, by Arthur Miller are very similar in theme, but different in the outcome. First, Joe Keller and Terry Malloy were faced with ethical dilemmas surrounding choices: to be loyal to yourself or to your community, to do what is easiest and best for you, or what is right. Terry and Joe each stood by and let an innocent man die, even though each could have stopped it. But Terry’s sense of right and wrong and of responsibility to others grew after he realized the consequences of not caring or doing anything to save Doyle. He became more and more aware of others and became more compassionate, while Joe seemed to stay the same the entire book, stuck in his selfishness. Terry and Joe however, ultimately make different choices. In the end Joe was selfish, and would not admit to the police that he sent out the faulty cylinder heads. Terry on the other hand made the selfless choice, as he helped the waterfront workers rather than making sure he would have money and a place in the mob.

I would recommend everyone to see On the Waterfront. I know now why it is considered a classic. The moral and ethical choices faced by the characters reminded me that pain sometimes goes along with doing the right thing, but it is still worth it. The constant camera angle changes kept reminding me that even though there are different points of view, right and wrong are always the same. The well developed characters made me anxiously care about what might happen to them. Though some parts seemed cheesy, in the end the film really made you think about what you would do if you were in Terry’s place. Overall the film was really good and I would watch it again.