Force Fed Films: Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Puneet decided to rethink his movie picking strategy for his Force Fed Films after I disappointed him so many times with his past choices. This week he came up with a real gem in the form of Cool Hand Luke starring the great Paul Newman. This is another one of those films that will sprout lines you've always heard but never knew where they came from until watching it. This is a story about a man who finds himself in jail and has issues dealing with the rules and authority forced upon him. Hit the jump to see if Puneet finally picked something I could enjoy.


So this movie doesn't have much of a plot, but it's really just a character piece. Luke finds himself sentenced to jail time after a night of drinking and cutting to tops off of parking meters. As the film progresses we learn more and more about this man and learn that he's always had a hard life.

We learn that he served well and was highly awarded in the army as a Sergeant, but when he was discharged it was as a Private. We never know why he lost all his rank, but to be sure he just can't conform to regular civilian life either. During a visit from his sick mother, we learn that he's constantly tried to fit in, but something always goes wrong and it all falls apart.

Once again he tries his best to be good while in jail, and turn over a new leaf due to his ailing mother's wishes. However, upon news of her passing, and then essentially being punished on the off chance he might try to run, all that goes out the window. What follows is the struggle of an independent man against all authority, a man who doesn't know the meaning of the word 'quit'.

Of late I've been coming across quite a number of emotionally charged movies that simply haven't gotten to me. That wall finally cracked with this movie during the wonderfully subtle scene where Luke learns of his mother's passing. He gets the note, quietly reads it, nods, and just walks over to his bunk. He gets out a banjo and quietly begins to play. The song would be quite cheery if it wasn't for the somber atmosphere. What choked me up was seeing this normally happy nothing-gets-him-down man who wears all his feelings on his sleeve, sing this song, and clearly getting caught on the words, trying to hold in his emotions for once. As he sings, a single tear falls down his cheek.

Besides the great character work and touching emotional pieces, there's lots more that this film offers. It's got some great cinematography making use of one of the guards reflective sunglasses. There's also plenty of entertaining scenes of the chain gang making a race of their work, or watching a woman washing her car, knowingly teasing the prisoners. The friendship between Paul Newman's Luke and George Kennedy's Dragline character is also great to watch. It didn't surprise me one bit to find out that George Kennedy actually won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Overall I thought this was a really good movie. It was nice to finally feel something again in a movie too. I don't think I've ever seen Paul Newman in a movie before, and it was great to finally see him in action. What a smile! This is a story about a man with nothing to his name but the name itself. But you know what they say, "Sometimes nothing is a real cool hand."