Klute (1971)

Klute (1971)

Starring Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland

Directed by Alan J. Pakula

114 minutes

Private investigator John Klute (Donald Sutherland) travels to New York City to investigate the disappearance of a man. His only clue is an un-mailed letter that the missing man wrote to prostitute Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda). 

Klute approaches Daniels. She doesn’t want to talk to him at first but he is persistent and she eventually warms to him. She doesn’t really remember the missing man. She has recently received numerous anonymous phone calls from someone who won’t speak to her. She suspects that she is being stalked.

Klute tries to put the pieces together. He wonders if the missing man is the stalker. He eventually suspects that someone he has been speaking to knows more than they are letting on. He sets a trap for them but things don’t go exactly as planned when the suspect begins to wonder if he is getting played by Klute. 

Thoughts

The killer is revealed at the end of the movie but it wasn't quite as dramatic as I thought it would be. There was some real tension in the final scene with the killed but there was more talking and less action than I thought there might be. 

Things do not get resolved nicely and neatly at the end of the movie. Klute and Daniels leave New York City. It is implied that he goes home but that she does not go with him. In a different movie she would have gone with him.

This is a very spare but very stylized film. There isn’t a lot of music in it but it’s there although it isn’t overpowering. It is a well made but it isn’t for everyone. Klute is the title character but it is really Daniels story. Klute himself doesn’t exhibit very much in the way of personality. He is all business when he is speaking. 

Notes

Alan J. Pakula also directed a few others films I have seen including Sophie’s Choice (1982) and Presumed Innocent (1990). He produced To Kill a Mockingbird (1958). 

Jane Fonda won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role for her role in this film. It was her second nomination and her first win. The movie was nominated for one other Academy Award for the screenplay but it did not win. 

Jean Stapleton had a very small role in this movie as Mr. Goldfarb’s secretary. She is best known for playing Edith Bunker on All in the Family. 

Lee Wallace had a very small role toward the end of the movie. He was also in Taking of the Pelham 1-2-3 (1970) and Batman (1989).