On the Waterfront (1954)

[**** stars / *****]

Terry Malloy: 

You don't understand! 

I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. 

I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.

 

Have you ever had that sinking feeling bursting out of you, been put down by a near one, that this life could have been lived better, that your best days are done? 

Marlon Brando immortalized that feeling forever, an unforgettable scene in On the Waterfront.  

A mobster union boss, the waterfront he rules with fearsome force, a profiting gang, right hand man and his 'has been' dockworker brother, dead man's sister seeking answers and a reform-seeking church Father.     

On the Waterfront is Marlon Brando in earnest, intense, face-as-expressive-canvas glory. 

Budd Schulberg's story and tipsy-turvy screenplay both touches and misses the bigger picture. 

The Elia Kazan direction is not consistently solid.

The setting has its atmospherics, be it the stark buildings or the dock, the story is certainly throbbing, though the love track seems forced at times. 

Kazan and the art department do triumph in the indoor settings and the cast - they totally feel like waterfront residents. 

A waterfront, for starters, is a part of town near to the river or the sea, with its own geographical dynamics, a gritty working class neighbourhood, details that the steady Boris Kaufman cinematography captures with assurance. 

The Marlon Brando show 

Brando makes On the Waterfront tick. 

He looks every bit Terry Malloy, a faded boxer whose elder brother is part of a notorious local gang. 

His new found love for Elie (Eva Marie Saint) leads him to steadily grow a conscience and set things right. But Terry's change of heart is not without tragic consequences.   

The climatic confrontation between Terry and Charley (Rod Steiger) is the standout scene, Brando and Steiger sparkle, vulnerability and rawness of the relationship bursting out between the siblings, leading to the famous Brando outburst.    

The Father Barry (Karl Malden) talk on Christian values, the Jesus analogy is another notable aspect of the story curve. 

Lee J. Cobb as Johnny Friendly almost steals the show playing a small-time ferocious, bull of a man with a murderous streak. 

The cinematography and frames could have been sharper. When the camera frames one character at a time, it momentarily dwarfs the storytelling.       

On the Waterfront is not an outright classic, there are many superb moments, especially in the final fifteen minutes that redeems the movie experience, brings the drama to a rousing end.

Watch it for Brando's towering performance, Cobb's fiendishly enjoyable villain shades and Saint's fragile romantic turn.