Word: marathoning
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...graduate student in history at Columbia, in the process of writing a doctoral dissertation designed to clear the name of his late father, a noted historian driven to alcoholism, and finally, to suicide by the McCarthy witch hunts, and you'll have something of a notion of what makes Marathon Man an outstanding thriller...
...trade, most notably a high-powered drill, in highly dubious fashion, is Laurence Olivier--are interwoven in an intricate but readily comprehensible story which moves through France and Uruguay and finally reaches its culmination in New York. The graduate student, played by Dustin Hoffman, is an aspiring marathon runner who jogs in Central Park before and after classes, dreaming of Olympic stardom; his developing skills at endurance running turn out to come in quite handy--hence the title...
Although the film is certainly not tasteless, either in plot or in presentation, violence--and violence of a particularly bizarre and painful character--runs continually throughout Marathon Man. And if those in the audience are unprepared for, or less than anxious to partake in a two hour experience of this sort, the effect of the film will be unpleasant at best. With that warning, and noting that there are weapons of destruction employed in this film unlike any you have ever seen, know also that this screen version of the William Goldman novel is about as exciting and captivating...
...naive, overwhelmed Tom Levi, whose purpose in life is both limited and noble, who becomes entangled in events far beyond his wildest imaginings, and who, in the final analysis, demonstrates a resiliency and inner strength which one gathers his father, for all his brilliance, lacked. The metaphor of the marathon runner, ever striving for greater fortitude, is indeed apt, and Hoffman has found a role which, with its moments of humor and of pathos, affords him an opportunity to turn in a performance strikingly reminiscent, in its portrayal of a character confused and bewildered, yet ultimately driven and determined...
WITH THAT SAID about Marathon Man, the film and the book, it is worth taking a moment to consider William Goldman, whose screenplay credits include Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men, but who is held in highest regard by this writer for Boys and Girls Together, a novel about growing up in the 50's, published over a decade ago, that is remarkable for a set of extraordinarily well-developed characters and strikingly witty and realistic dialogue. Having failed to encounter anyone who has heard of this book, or anyone who knew of Goldman...