Midnight Cowboy is a scuzzy and sleazy look at 1960s New York City. It stands out amongst films of its time because it shines a light on poverty and hopelessness, and yes, the fallacy of the American Dream.
The title character, Joe Buck, is played naively by Jon Voight. He moves from small town Texas to the big city with a dream that is not usually represented in mainstream cinema (or certainly was not in 1969): to be a rent boy to wealthy Manhattan women. His naivety is fully exposed by his street-smart clients, and his efforts to make his living fall ever-further into the red.
Buck soon meets Ratso (played to grimy excess by Dustin Hoffman), a bottom-feeding and ailing con-man, and the two are soon joined in life by their perpetual hopelessness. They move in together in a filthy squat and descend into a squalid existence of despair and humiliation. The only thing that offers any hope is a dream of sunny Florida perpetuated by Ratso through his dreams.
The film endures due the time-capsule nature of a past-time New York City, and through the strong performances of its leads. It’s also well-shot and artfully edited; it’s as memorable as the Harry Nilsson-penned “Everybody’s Talkin”, which is played at many an opportunity throughout.
1969, John Schlesinger
8.0
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