“I want my money!”
The first time I saw Point Blank was in a movie theater. And since I wasn’t even born in 1967 the only way this could have happened was if the film had played in a museum.
The Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) had a film program that ran for a couple of years. Because ticket prices were so low and not enough people showed up to support the program, it eventually died. It was a very sad day indeed. Fortunately, one of the original 35mm prints I got to experience there was Point Blank.
I had never even heard of this film before seeing it that night. And I didn’t know who Lee Marvin was. But walking out of the theater I was extremely grateful that I had discovered them both.
What makes Point Blank so much more than just your average revenge thriller is it’s use of editing to convey both the memory and psychological state of its protagonist. It clearly draws on the best aspects of film noir and the French New Wave. The film has a distant and cold feel with its use of locations and sounds.
And Lee Marvin is excellent as the angry and calculating Walker who has been betrayed by his best friend and wife for $93,000.00.
