Sharkyâs Machine
Even to this day, Burt Reynolds remains almost enigmatic at times to many when it comes to the overall worldview that he tried to project through his film career, a career where in the 1970s he reigned as the undisputed most popular movie star in the world. Perhaps sensing the creative power and influence that his contemporary Clint Eastwood was gaining by forging ahead with a directing career, Reynolds eventually found himself doing the same (although with a less prolific output than Eastwood would have), directing two films in the late 70s (Gator and The End) that received mixed notices and still have only limited fanbases to this day. Reynoldsâ third film in the directorâs chair was really where he found his stride, this 1981 release which many compared to Eastwoodâs Dirty Harry series, but while Eastwood has always maintained that he (allegedly) does not share either Harryâs worldview nor his method of doing things, Reynolds reportedly infused this cop action / thriller with at least somewhat a sense of his own personal morality, namely the mostly silenced voices of those who are victimized by the human (and child) sex trafficking industries, a theme that oddly still resonates to this day especially in the idea that those who profit the most from it are shadowy figures who nonetheless still possess the power to make anyone (including cops) suffer from little âaccidentsâ for getting in their way. The story is interestingly set in Atlanta (although almost any major American city would do) and first introduces us to Reynoldsâ Sgt. Tom Sharky as a badass narcotics cop making an undercover bust that is nearly blown when his idiot partner comes rolling in too early, spooking the dealer and resulting in a major shootout that sees Sharky get his man, but not until after a couple of innocent civilians get shot down as well. This opening scene demonstrates the somewhat different direction that Reynolds seems to be going for as opposed to other movies of this type, as while certainly the badass hero cop is accounted for, the situation itself plays out like uncontrolled mayhem where nobody is safe (and the hero is not allowed to have the scenario play out exactly like he wanted) while the other cops involved (including the heroâs friends) are bumbling fuckups who are lucky that more people didnât get killed. Sharky still takes the fall for what went down, getting demoted from narcotics (where he was damn near a legend) to the decidedly lowly in comparison vice squad, a unit relegated to the basement of the police station who spend their time busting street hookers, pimps, and all sorts of other debased types of sexual deviants. It seems to be a humiliation for Sharky, but at least he pulls together some allies including his Lieutenant and Commanding Officer (Charles Durning), idealistic cop Arch (Bernie Casey) and the slovenly Papa (Brian Keith) who strangely enough seems to enjoy socializing with the hookers whom he meets on the job. Sharky seems doomed to spend the rest of his career busting people for misdemeanors, but a chance arrest of a prostitute and her well dressed pimp puts him on the path of a ring of $1000 a night escorts, for which he knows that this could lead to something bigger. He succeeds in getting wiretaps put on all of the girls except one, which makes him so curious as to why that he decides to stake her out himself. The girl turns out to be Dominoe (Rachel Ward at the start of her career and the peak of her looks), a sultry brunette whom he watches and literally becomes obsessed with while doing so, finally realizing that heâs on to something when a political candidate (Earl Holliman) who is expected to be the next Governor turns out to be her prize client. After she is promised a new life away from the city after the election, itâs only then that Reynolds spies the real prey that heâs been looking for, a super rich Italian speaking pimp / businessman (Vittorio Gassman) known only as âVictorâ whoâs none too happy about Ward leaving the business as he was expecting to use her to control the politician after heâs been elected to the Governorâs seat. In response, he sends a crazed, drug addicted hitman (Henry Silva) to her place to blow her head off as Reynolds watches in despair from across the street, immediately evoking shades of Otto Premingerâs Laura if not for Silva himself, easily one of the most frightening hitman bad guys ever, stealing the movie with the idea being that the drugs he takes with unbridled glee before a hit (including coke and several different kinds of pills) gives him unimaginable adrenaline surges not to mention the almost perverted way he regards any woman that heâs planning to kill (calling them his âlittle angelsâ) making him into a downright lethal creeper. Reynolds and his guys act quickly to try and contain the threat even as others repeatedly tell him that heâs in over his head considering who theyâre up against. And itâs that aspect that remains relevant even now (with the reputed worldwide rise of the sex trafficking industry) and the portrayal of the main villains as being allegedly âuntouchableâ types (albeit many other movies have tried to go that route before although not quite as effectively as is seen here) as Gassman and Silva (about whom we find out very little background information) seem to come from a more European nobility / âIlluminatiâ style background, as shown when Sharky and the other lowly vice cops persuade their lieutenant Durning to keep this case out of the hands of homicide on the fear that it would be completely buried rather than properly investigated, going above and beyond their jurisdiction because they all know that they could very well be busting one of the mysterious masters of the universe for whom nothing ever seems to be done about in order to be brought down by conventional police and law enforcement, plus the fact that Reynolds has fallen madly in love with Ward and was going on the warpath against the people who had forced her into that sordid life shows that they were all now on a mission for true justice in a world full of corruption. A lonely stand to be sure, but for a more righteous cause than any of them had ever been involved in their entire lives. This is evidenced by the scene (a classic staple in both the Dirty Harry franchise and also Charles Bronson movies) where Reynolds strolls into a fancy public place to confront Gassmanâs crime boss (and a bevy of hookers he has with him) face to face to try and gain a psychological edge, only to be laughed off at first before Reynolds hits him with some hard facts about why heâs going down, a excellently written and acted scene that belies the very fact that its concept is literally a clichĂ©. Indeed, itâs Reynoldsâ (and the politicianâs) feelings about Ward that contrast with Gassmanâs, as Gassman considers someone like her to be the âbestâ at her âart formâ, that of making men so crazy about her that they become convinced that she âlovesâ them as much as they do her, which Gassman considers to be the âartâ of illusion. Reynolds on the other hand, feels that he can indeed get this glamorous prostitute to love him for real on the basis of some straight talk and letting her know just what is at stake (including her life) since he shamefully admits that he doesnât have $1000 that he can just spend on her (a nice show of vulnerability on Burtâs part). It all leads up to a gruesome torture scene being carried out on Reynolds and the over the top finale where Silva takes center stage by using the adrenaline from his drug use to become damn near unstoppable as a killing machine. The action scenes are fun and exciting to watch as is the interaction between Sharky and his fellow vice cops (Durning gets a couple of temper tantrums here that are absolutely hilarious) which is benefitted from the good writing. A couple of plot holes and not properly explained story developments mar the story at times but the general idea of presenting these vice cops (said here to be the lowest of the low in law enforcement) taking on villains that are said to be âunstoppableâ in more ways than one (Silva with his drug infused killing rampages and Gassman with his seemingly unlimited money, power and connections) over the evil of forcing prostitution onto young, impressionable girls (Gassman even brags about starting them out at the age of 12) makes this a film where especially today it’s easy to root for the good guys while Burt Reynolds checks in with his most exciting, mature work as a director in a career where sadly he would not do it too oftenâŠ
9/10