On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront

The movie "On the Waterfront" directed by Elia Kazan is a story of a union of dockworkers that work underneath a mob like government. Actor Marlon Brando plays Terry Malloy who is forced by the union bosses to not speak on the death of a fellow dockworker (Joey) and no one is going to say anything-- until Joey's sister (Edie) and Father Barry urge Joey and the rest of the dockworkers to take a stand against the mob union. Marlon Brandon does a great job showing the emotion Terry is confronted with when he is asked to choose between ratting on his bosses or doing what's against everything he's been taught.

In the book, The Art of Watching Films (page 26) states that when watching Coming of Age films that usually: "young people going through experiences that force them to become more mature or to gain some new awareness of themselves in relation to the world around them". Terry Malloy's character is a perfect example of this. From the start of the movie Terry comes off as a young guy who means well, but also has not had a lot of experience away from the docks. Marlon Brando does a brilliant performance with Terry as a dynamic character who goes from being "the bum" of the dock to the reason the dock stays whole. Accompanying actress, Eva Marie Saint (Edie) shows strong passion in this drama as she investigates to find out who killed her brother and when she urges Terry to stand up on trial.

The plot of "On the Waterfront" unwinds as a mystery with Director Elia Kazan shedding piece by piece of the corruption on the waterfront. Throughout this movie I found myself paying especially close attention to Terry and Edie as their love grew, but also couldn't stop thinking about the mobbed-up union bosses that were working to keep the public quiet. The absence of lighting adds the right touch throughout this movie and adds to the hardship of the working class that is shown on the screen. I like how Kazan amplified the orchestras to almost double their regular volume to keep the viewer on edge. However, I feel the feature is a tad-bit overkill during the scene where Terry tells Edie about witnessing her brother's murder. If the orchestras weren't amplified here, I could've avoided about 15-20 minutes of trying to understand fully what had happened.

The book, The Art of Watching Films (page 22) states that film makers, "expose social vices and follies or criticize social institutions". Kazan's movie "On the Waterfront" let's its viewers peer into a large part of America's economy, the shipping industry. By watching the movie, viewers know that union bosses can become corrupt and gang-like and how greed can cause a person to lose morals. Also the motif of greed is shown in the movie when Terry used the symbol of pigeons and hawks to describe who possesses the wealth on the waterfront and how they get their wealth. I also believe Kazan used the pigeon as a symbol for Terry as a "caged bird". The cage that he is trying to break out of is his endowment to the Union boss's and when he takes down those bosses he will finally be able to fight again, competitively. 

Boggs, Joseph, & Petrie, Dennis. (2012). The Art of watching films. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill College.