Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of those films that has that kooky, offbeat late 1960s/1970s feel to it. I really wanted to greatly admire this film and firmly put it on my all-time favourite list of the best films of all-time. I am putting it on the list, but it turned out not to be the great classic that I had hoped it would be. I had never seen the film and came into it with preconceived notions based on reviews and buzz that I have heard over my lifetime. Most of them turned out to be true, but I was disappointed with a couple aspects of the film.William Goldman is a great screenwriter and an even better storyteller. That’s probably why he has also had a successful career as a novelist. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a good screenplay. It is told naturally, easy and with little effort – by that I mean that Goldman is so good at the craft of storytelling that even the most complex scene structure comes off as crisp, clear and natural – just like it does real life.
At the same time (and this in no way is a negative aspect of his writing), Goldman’s aloof humour is goofy. The easy back and forth banter between Paul Newman and Robert Redford is trademark Goldman. Throw in some of his off-the-cuff humour and you get a scene that most screenwriters would kill for. But that’s Goldman’s trademark. He is one of the best at easy, natural dialogue. Take a look at The Princess Bride, Misery and All The President’s Men – it’s the same whatever film it is and whatever genre it is.
I became disconnected with the film when the relationship between Butch, Sundance and Etta first appeared. The relationship was bizarre. I can only surmise that it was really a menage a trois but censors prohibited the filmmakers from expressing that. I raised both eyebrows when Newman rode a bicycle with Katharine Ross in the front as Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head played. Preposterous. I can see Newman riding around and being goofy on a bicycle – that’s in his character’s nature – but over the theme song? No. The score is truncated and bizarre to begin with and it seems that Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head was just thrown into the film or placed there for commercial reasons – it has nothing whatsoever to do with the film or any feeling or thought expressed by any of the characters. Yet, it wins an Oscar. The only time when this song appeared anywhere that had any real meaning was on The Simpsons when Homer (because his license has been suspended) drives Marge around on the front of a bicycle.
As a screenplay, the film progresses nicely including the extended sequence with Butch and Sundance on the run. It falters somewhat with the over-long montage of still shots of the trio making their way to the east coast to set off on a boat to Boliva. I would have much preferred a live-action montage. That would have kept the pace going at a nice clip. The trio’s time in Boliva is, I think, the best part of the film where each of the character’s weaknesses are exposed. This is an exceptionally well-written part. The ending is superb. The final freeze-frame is wonderful – just as it should be. I don’t think we as the audience want to see the two heroes get gunned down in a pool of blood. As such, the final frame with the sound is perfect.