Drama/Sci-Fi/Thriller
2 hours and 5 minutes
Rated: R
Written by: Heywood Gould
Directed by: Franklin J. Schaffner
Produced by: Stanley O'Toole and Martin Richards
Cast:
Gregory Peck
Laurence Olivier
James Mason
If they survive ... will we?
The 1970s brought audiences into an apex of Nazi related films. This mainly was due to the underground success of the Nazisploitation genre. Films like The Night Porter (1974), The Gestapo's Last Orgy (1978), and of course the incredibly influential Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1974), became overnight guilty pleasures for audiences to indulge in. Films that showcased the ruthless ugliness of the Nazis, in a pseudo-cartoonish fashion, but still ensured audiences that good will prevail by any and all Nazi antagonists' brutal deaths. In a way, The Boys from Brazil doesn't stray too far from this exploitation formula.
Essentially a large budget exploitation (more specifically, a Nazisploitation) film, The Boys from Brazil remains to this day an impressive piece of cinema in general. Based on the novel by Ira Levin, who authored Rosemary's Baby, the film promises to be a highly intelligent story right off the bat. The story itself may seem confusing for the first hour and a half or so, but this is to put the audience in the place of the protagonist. Nothing is given to us until it is given to him. This works tremendously, keeping the film's suspense levels on high at all times - ultimately leading to the film's nail-biting conclusion.
The film boasts some fantastic locations all over the globe. South America, Austria, London, New England, and Pennsylvania are all captured terrifically. They are photographed enough to identify where the location is, but they never boast a "tourist-esque" quality that most big-budget films with multiple locations suffer from. Equally impressive are the film's close-ups. Used only to capture the intense emotions of the film's tremendous cast, and to disorient the audience when slight clues are given before the mystery is solved. Henri Decaë is responsible for this magnificent cinematography.
Just as magnificent is the film's editing, done by Robert Swink. Swink seems to know and understand what makes the many genres that Boys is grounded in work. The dialogue heavy, dramatic sequences are filled with few cuts, made at appropriate intervals. During the film's climax, and scenes of sensationalism or violence, quick cuts are used to raise the tension of the film even further.
But it is not the editing, nor the cinematography, that are The Boys from Brazil's tour de force. It is the acting. As if it weren't enough to have a protagonist played by Laurence Olivier and an antagonist played by Gregory Peck, the film is loaded with even more impressive actors, including: James Mason, Denholm Elliot, Rosemary Harris, and Walter Gotell. Gotell actually has a terrific scene in the film, one of only three that he's in, that - if it wasn't for the climax - would be the most terrifying and suspenseful moment within the movie.
But in the end, nothing can surpass the talent of the film's two leading men. Olivier does an amazing job, making the audience sympathize with his portrayal of an aging Nazi-hunter. His frustrations are felt, and his sense of good and evil is what drives the audience to power through the film's length, never feeling a dull moment. The character is the most believable and interesting within the entire story. Peck's performance as Dr. Josef Mengele, starts off appearing as if it's going to be a Nazi caricature, something directly out of Nazisploitation cinema. This over-the-top quality may at first glance appear that it is going to wear thin - but by the end of the film, one comes to understand Peck's brilliance. Mengele is notably remembered for his hot to cold temper. Screaming, shouting, and acting out of passion and anger one minute, and then appearing cool, calm, and collected the next. In a way, Mengele is history's Nazi-caricature. Peck, the character actor that he was, portrays him so excellently, that the science-fiction/Nazisploitation elements that surround his character are melted away into reality. This is also helped in part by the realness of Olivier's character. When the two characters come together in the film's intense climax, we are shown what happens in a fight between reality and sanity versus fantasy and insanity. Maybe a metaphor for the events of World War II or the Holocaust?
Perhaps the only flaw in The Boys from Brazil is the performance (or multiple performances, rather) of the then newcomer Jeremy Black. Black's performances aren't crucial to the film's plot, even though the characters themselves are incredibly important to the story. His limited screen-time may have been for a reason, but even still, his moments on screen seem much too long, and we have to wonder why the producers would have cast such an untalented child actor to hold the screen with Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck. Maybe it's just Peck's and Olivier's talent that is able to make a so-so actor appear terrible.
With only minor flaws that ultimately don't affect the film as a whole, The Boys from Brazil is an outstanding motion-picture that includes stand-out performances from its leading men, and will remain a prime example of exploitable elements working perfectly in a mainstream film.
9.5/10
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