Why Midnight Cowboy is My Favorite Movie

 

On Saturday afternoon, I ventured to the Coolidge Corner Theatre to see Midnight Cowboy. 

It has been at least a decade since I last set foot in the Coolidge Corner Theatre and as I recall it was to see the Oscar winning documentary Searching for Sugarman. Come to think of it, I had not set foot in Brookline since March 2016. 

It is fitting that I would end my exile from the Coolidge Corner Theatre with Midnight Cowboy as it is my favorite movie of all time.

First and foremost, there is the onscreen chemistry between Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight as Enrico Salvatore "Ratso" Rizzo and Joe Buck. Both richly deserved their Academy Award nominations for Best Actor but they effectively cancelled each other as the Academy voted for John Wayne in True Grit though Midnight Cowboy would earn Best Picture while John Schlesinger earned Best Director.

Midnight Cowboy also has my favor because it is such a bleak movie - the characters, their state of affairs and the bleakness of their lives be it in rural Texas or in New York City. Most movies involve triumph and overcoming the odds. And while that can be good for the spirit it seldom bears any resemblance to real life. For many of us, life is marked by failure with infrequent openings of opportunity which offer a glimmer of hope but ultimately the endeavor bears no fruit. 

All "Ratso" Rizzo wants out of life is to get to Florida, but he dies on the bus moments before he and Joe Buck reach Miami. As the palm trees roll by with the deceased Rizzo leaning on the bus window with Joe Buck helplessly looking on, I always get the feeling it symbolizes Rizzo not reaching the promised land. 

In the midst of the bleakness and despair, I find joy and solace in the music from Midnight Cowboy although some of the songs that appear in the movie is different from what is heard on the soundtrack. For instance, the harmonica on the John Barry composed "Midnight Cowboy Theme" is played by Toots Thielemans in the movie, but on the soundtrack the harmonica is played by Tommy Reilly. Also, Harry Nilsson's version of "Everybody's Talkin'" has a much sparser arrangement in the movie than the single he released. Penned by Fred Neil, "Everybody's Talkin" was chosen for Midnight Cowboy instead of a Nilsson composition called "I Guess The Lord Must Be in New York City" as well as "Cowboy" by Randy Newman and Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" which was not recorded in time for the movie's release. All of these are great songs, but the songs which were chosen are the best fit with the spirit of Midnight Cowboy. 

My favorite song in Midnight Cowboy is "Old Man Willow" by Elephants Memory, a group which would later collaborate with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. "Old Man Willow" is featured prominently at the Warholesque happening Joe Buck and Ratso attend and meet up with Nancy (played by Brenda Vaccaro). While some might consider "Old Man Willow" a relic of the psychedelic era, I am struck by both the organ and saxophone arrangements which give it a progressive jazz fusion feel and boundless sense of energy.

Over the years, I have attended other screenings of Midnight Cowboy (including at Coolidge Corner) and found today's audience less engaged. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean the audience was indifferent to it or that they disliked it. They just weren't vocal. Then again, as with some of the music, perhaps the story hasn't aged so well with some, particularly for those under the age of 40 who don't connect with Cass (played by the late Sylvia Miles) who said she couldn't get to the bank before it closed. There are many people who have never known life without ATMs. 

Since Midnight Cowboy is my favorite movie, I am always happy to shell out $15 every few years to see a movie which doesn't have a happy ending.