Deliverance [R]

Four friends decide to take a canoe trip down the Cahulawassee River to embrace the magnificence of it before it gets turned into a man-made lake. But along the way the trip that started out to be fun boys’ getaway turns fatally nasty when the convoy is attacked and sexually assaulted by mountain men and a murder takes place. Now the boys are battling with the shock and guilt of murder as well as the unforgiving harshness of the river and the wilderness, and the trip quickly escalates into a fight for sanity and survival. 

Based on the novel by James Dickey, Deliverance is a brutal and harsh look at the mind and the mentality under pressure. A gritty and very harsh story set against the seemingly beautiful backdrop of the Chattanooga River where it was shot, making everything all the more brutal and ironic, this movie had me transfixed from the first frame. 

Four friends decide to take a canoe trip down the Cahulawassee River to embrace the magnificence of it before it gets turned into a man-made lake. But along the way the trip that started out to be fun boys’ getaway turns fatally nasty when the convoy is attacked and sexually assaulted by mountain men and a murder takes place. Now the boys are battling with the shock and guilt of murder as well as the unforgiving harshness of the river and the wilderness, and the trip quickly escalates into a fight for sanity and survival. 

As I mentioned before, Deliverance is a brilliant look at the circumstances that can so strongly change the mind and the mentality of a person. Each of the four men begin the film as a certain kind of character but, after the murder, each one goes down a road of great change with fear, shock, and guilt being the catalyst. 

All the performances were brilliant! We have Jon Voight as Ed who begins the film at peace with the world, sipping beer whilst floating down the river, but then turns cold when he finds himself being the one in charge when they lose one of their group and have another severely injured. He grapples with guilt and shock and it’s amazing to watch him trying to keep his wits about him. Burt Reynolds is Lewis, the man with the plan, who begins the film being the one in charge and rather arrogant of his own “knowledge of nature” but then the boot goes onto the other foot when he gets severely injured and spends the rest of the movie in immense pain and unable to lead. Ned Beatty is Bobby, a chubby city slicker all up for the boys’ fun, but when someone else has too much fun at his expense, his mentality changes when he’s forced to hold his own. And then we have Ronny Cox who stars as Drew, lover of music and fun but with a level head on his shoulders. The shock of being involved in murder becomes too much for him and you’ll have to watch the film to see what happens. 

Director John Boorman’s style of filming is very harsh and real, placing all the emphasis and clout on the story and the performances from his leads. Against the ironic banjo soundtrack and then the magnificently deceptive beauty of the woods and river wilderness of the Chattanooga, this movie makes you think and not want to stop for anything. 

Filled with a minimal cast, beautiful scenery, action, philosophy, murder, and violence, Deliverance is a very gritty movie, but one that compels you to keep watching.