consider 1969. that year saw the release of the following familiar titles: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, EASY RIDER, THE WILD BUNCH, TRUE GRIT, FELLINI SATYRICON, Z, and MIDNIGHT COWBOY. John Schlesinger directed Waldo Salt's screenplay of James Leo Herlihy's novel, which stars dually Oscar nominated Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. The film won Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture, despite its X rating.
Jon Voight plays the aptly named Joe Buck, a true-to-life Texan who is never without his cowboy hat and shiny, slick boots. he is introduced as a civilian of a small town who works a dead-end job in a restaurant and wants out. his plan? move to New York City and sell himself to women; he is proud to proclaim his aspirations of being a hustler. but why does he want to get out of this town before audiences are even properly introduced to it? through sporadic, non-linear editing techniques, audiences learn that Joe Buck is haunted by something in his past. he needs to get away.
Joe Buck stands out remarkably well in the NYC mass. he tries to converse with many women on the sidewalk, but is quick to learn that they easily ignore him. when he finally lands a client, she is baffled to discover that he is a male prostitute and begins to cry when he asks for his compensation; he gives her money for a taxi after the affair.
enter Ratso Rizzo, played by Dustin Hoffman in his best performance. Rizzo is a con man cripple who is eager to speak his mind: "I'M WALKIN' HERE!! I'M WALKIN' HERE!!!" as the film progresses, Rizzo becomes Joe's only friend; Rizzo offers Joe a cot in his apartment in an abandoned building and they begin to work together. quite the odd couple.
the following sexual encounters experienced by Joe Buck are seemingly extreme for him. he offers his services to a young man in a movie theater for 20 dollars that he does not receive, embarrassingly shies away from a female client who questions his sexual orientation before engaging in rough sex involving scrabble pieces, and nearly kills an older man with his fists because the man backs out of their deal and doesn't want to pay. by this point in the film, audiences have learned through a black & white montage that Joe Buck and his ex-girlfriend had been raped by a Texan gang. throughout the film, Joe's ex-girlfriend can be heard proclaiming that Joe is "the best." this is what haunts him.
the following dialogue exchange is crucial in summarizing the relationships within the film:
Ratso: I gotta get outta here, gotta get outta here. Miami Beach, that's where you could score. Anybody can score there, even you. In New York, no rich lady with any class at all buys that cowboy crap anymore. They're laughin' at you on the street.
Joe: Ain't nobody laughin' at me on the street.
Ratso: Behind your back, I've seen 'em laughin' at you, fella.
Joe: Aw, what the hell you know about women anyway? When's the last time you scored, boy?
Ratso: That's a matter I only talk about at confession. We're not talkin' about me now.
Joe: And when's the last time you've been to confession?
Ratso: It's between me and my confessor. And I'll tell ya another thing. Frankly, you're beginning to smell. And for a stud in New York, that's a handicap.
Joe: Well, don't talk to me about clean. I ain't never seen you change your underwear once the whole time I've been here in New York. And that's pretty peculiar behavior.
Ratso: I don't have to do that kind of thing in public. I ain't got no need to expose myself.
Joe: [cruelly] No, I bet you don't. I bet you ain't never even been laid! How about that? And you're gonna tell me what appeals to women!
Ratso: I know enough to know that that great big, dumb cowboy crap of yours don't appeal to nobody except every jockey on 42nd Street. That's faggot stuff! You wanna call it by its name? That's strictly for fags!
Joe: John Wayne! You wanna tell me he's a fag?
[after a long pause]
Joe: I like the way I look. It makes me feel good. It does. And women like me, god-dammit. Hell, only one thing I've ever been good for is lovin'. Women go crazy for me. That's a really true fact. Ratso, hell, Crazy Annie, they had to send her away.
Ratso: Then how come you ain't scored once, the whole time you've been in New York?
Joe: 'Cause, 'cause I need management, god-dammit. 'Cause you stole twenty dollars offa me. That's why you're gonna stop crappin' around about Florida. And, and get your skinny butt movin.' And earn twenty dollars worth of management which you owe me.
MIDNIGHT COWBOY is a film that concerns itself with identity. identity within society. sexual identity. spiritual identity. Joe Buck strives to find his identity throughout the course of the film, even though he thinks he has it all figured out, while crossing boundaries from one extreme to another (moving from a small Texan town to NYC, selling himself to women and men). in the final moments of the film, when the dynamic duo enters Florida, it seems that Joe finally finds himself. or so we thought.
"well, if it's free, then i ain't stealin'."
"the two basic items necessary to sustain life are sunshine and coconut milk.
did ya know that?"
welcome to Florida
