Duel is Steven Spielberg's debut film about emasculation in modern society, a man trapped in an unfulfilling role as a head of the household.
Dennis Weaver plays the lone major character, David Mann. On a random early weekend morning, he pulls out his Plymouth Valiant from suburban LA home, trying to close a sale that requires a lengthy drive to client's home. His seemingly routine road trip is his brief escape from having to deal with life until he overtakes a slow moving Peterbilt oil tanker. From then on, the truck tries to consume him, both literally and psychologically. The film begins to resemble the rainy drive from Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, but fully exposed in daylight without the cover of rainstorm.
At first, he tries to get away, speeding away as much as his Valiant and driving skill are capable of. But the truck somehow catches up to him (he later utters "How can he go so fast?"). He then tries to avoid the truck, driving slower and taking a long nap. But the truck is waiting for him. Like life itself, the only way out is to confront it, win or lose.
It's hard to imagine that Steven Spielberg was only 25 when the film was released. This low budget made-for-TV movie is extremely well crafted and makes the most out of its slim budget, a feat that was duplicated by his peer on the same year, George Lucas's THX-1138 (THX-1138 was produced with $777,777 budget against Duel's $450,000).
Duel is an epitome of minimalism -- tight story telling backed by perfectly framed visuals. Dennis Weaver expertly shifts his emotion with precision, ranging from fear, frustration, to anger.
If I were to criticize the film, it is that some aspects are a bit too clichéd, especially David's detached relationship with his family. This is a prototypical of Steven Spielberg's earlier films, perhaps most egregious on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The film ends with David sitting on a cliff briefly enjoying his victory, but mostly reflecting and contemplating his future. If his victory feels hollow, it's because life isn't about winning. Life requires understanding who you are, overcoming and/or embracing obstacles. I would like to think that David, after figuring out how to get back home, embraces his life as a family man with renewed confidence to take on obstacles.
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2020-10-23T05:34:13Z
THE CAWPINE OF ‘DUEL’
WRITING: 5
ATMOSPHERE: 9
CHARACTERS: 8
PRODUCTION: 9
INTRIGUE: 7
NOVELTY: 7
ENJOYMENT: 8
The Good:
That opening shot I brilliant. We hear the car radio and see what the driver sees through the front window, and it's chilling and interesting at the same time. It's such a mundane and quiet way to open the film that's it seems too simple to work as well as it does.
A bulk of the film takes place on the road, in a wordless duel of fuel and engines between Dennis Weaver and an unknown truck driver. It's here where Weaver excels in his acting, as he lets his emotions and expressions highlight his inner dialogue. Only Spielberg could make a 10-minute driving sequence with almost nothing big happening so tense and exciting.
The story is spread throughout familiar settings - the highway, a gas station, a diner - which helps to make the audience feel that something is wrong.
David is a fascinating character. We mostly see him sitting quiet, hearing his inner dialogue and following his expressions. He's paranoid, naive and hesitant, and throughout the film, he becomes more and more obsessed by the thought that someone wants his life. Weaver carries this film pretty much by himself, and his performance turns more and more intense, like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
This is Steven Spielberg's Mad Max, put together with a mix of clever close-ups, back- and foregrounds and fast-paced tracking shots. The lack of music in most scenes expect for climactic sequences is brilliant. The score ranges from Hitchcockian horror strings to something akin to psychedelia.
The sound of engines is what drives (pun intended) the movie forward, as well as the sudden spurs of danger as truck and trains, come rushing at David, making us feel very afraid of travelling on highways.
On many ways, there's a sense of Hitchcockian paranoia over this film. We don't know who the protagonist is, why (or even if) somebody wants him dead and who that somebody is. We are in the same boat with the protagonist and that makes us suspect every character we meet. We don’t even know if there is a struck or if the protagonist is imagining everything. There are so many layers and possible angles to the story that once you start to think about it, its seemingly simple premise quickly turns complicated.
The climax is breathtakingly tense, exciting, scary and explosive. It's the kind of climax young and aspiring filmmakers put in their movies to grab attention.
The Bad:
Despite the growing tension and sense of danger as the movie nears its climax, I can't help but feel that the highway chases start repeating themselves quite quickly, which drags out the climax somewhat.
The plot is mostly empty on any actual reflection or deeper story and the overall writing is barely memorable.
The Ugly:
I sure hope those glasses weren't in fashion back in 1971, because they sure ain't that today.
CAWPINE RATING: 7.57 / 10 = 4 stars