HUD (1963)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Drama / Western

Director: Martin Ritt

Cast: Paul Newman / Melvyn Douglas / Brandon De Wilde

Plot

A family of Texas ranchers struggles amidst the selfish behavior of one of their own, the venomous but seductive Hud.

What I Liked

Well there’s no way around the fact that Paul Newman was a top flight talent with serious star power.  Casting him as the simultaneously fascinating and repulsive lead character in this film was probably not a stroke genius for whoever did so as much as it was a no brainer.  The film, like its title, is built around his character and his performance.  But the Hud character’s importance is very much related to how those around him see him, particularly the characters in the family, who are all interesting and moving on their own.  Perceiving Hud through his interactions with each of them, the audience – like his family – want desperately to like this handsome, charismatic, and rebellious wayward soul but ultimately find him pathetic, desperate, and hollow.  Not that the writing or acting is hollow – far from it.  It’s just that the character is written and acted well enough to evoke a wide range of emotions from the audience.  The acting in the film is convincing across the board, as a matter of fact.  Each character and his or her relationship with Hud seems natural, certainly believable.

What I Didn’t Like

The portrayal of the theme of a changing world was a bit heavy-handed in parts.  Particularly when embodied through the Homer Bannon character, who watches helplessly as his family, ranch, and belief system rot away.  Meanwhile the fiery and aimless Hud character can be compared with similar rebellious young misfits in 50s and 60s movies like “The Wild One,”  “Rebel Without a Cause” and (again with Newman) “Cool Hand Luke” that represented the rise of not only a new generation but new perspectives on American film and the American dream.  In some ways I admire all this.  The themes were certainly relevant in 1963.  But in other characters I felt these themes were too obvious, the approach to the subject lacking subtlety.

 Other than this, which is almost more praise than complaint, I am without criticism for this film.

Most Memorable Scene
*spoiler alert!*

 There are plenty of memorable scenes in this film thanks to some moving relationships between the central characters, but for me the final goodbye between Hud and Alma, the woman who worked as the family housekeeper and cook, was the most meaningful.  With the sexual tension that runs between the two through the whole film having come to an ugly climax the evening prior, both characters finally open up and discuss their mutual attraction and disgust.  Alma, already a likeable and interesting character, becomes nearly as tragic and moving as that of Hud himself just before she exits the film, leaving the audience just as desperate for more of her as the men she leaves behind will become.

My Rating: 4 out of 5