Robert Redford, Diane Keaton, and Looking for Mr. Goodbar

 As is often the case when a famous actor dies, I immediately have to investigate their filmographies and see the movies they did that I have never seen. Is it morbid? Maybe? I like to think of it as honoring their careers and a convenient cinematic educational experience.

I recently did this with Robert Redford. Soon after he died, I watched The Candidate, The Hot Rock, and 3 Days of the Condor in quick succession.  The Candidate is a fascinating portrait of a man who goes from principled do-gooder lawyer to cynical presidential candidate. It's also a quaint reminder of a time when American politics didn't seem quite as cutthroat and despicable as it is in 2025. The Hot Rock is a funny crime/jewel heist caper that had to have been an influence on Steven Soderbergh's Ocean movies, and it has to be said that Redford is the most handsome ex-con in film history. 3 Days of the Condor is a movie I'd heard referenced multiple times in the last few years, and it didn't disappoint. It's up there among the great 1970s paranoia flicks like The Parallax View and The Conversation (among others). Redford is a CIA agent who finds himself out of his depth and not knowing who his allies or enemies are. Like many movies of that era, nothing is spelled out for the viewer. We are as in the dark as Redford's character. Through all three of these movies, Redford's charm is undeniable, but he's not just a pretty face. His acting is subtle, as he is able to convey so much just from something as simple as the expression on his face.

The film world also lost Diane Keaton. There are plenty of her movies I haven't seen, but Looking for Mr. Goodbar was one that particularly intrigued me. I have memories of being a kid in the late '70s and hearing the grown-ups talk about this movie in hushed tones. It sounded like an extremely mature movie that I was most certainly not allowed to see. Upon finally watching it, I understand what the controversy was about, because by 1977 standards, Looking for Mr. Goodbar takes on some heavy issues.

Based on a novelization of a real-life person, Diane Keaton plays Theresa, a young woman who is determined to live alone and on her own terms. As the film begins, she is a college student (graduate student?) who is working as an assistant for her professor and also having an affair with him. It turns out the professor is married and is only using Theresa for sex. He is the first in a string of terrible men in this film.

After her affair with the professor ends, Theresa presumably leaves college and gets a job. By day, she is a kind and committed teacher of deaf children in what appears to be an economically depressed area of the city. (The setting of the movie is unstated, but it seems to be New York City). At night, Theresa prowls singles bars and discos. All the while, she wrestles with her past: her domineering Irish-Catholic father, and the painful and psychologically damaging scoliosis she experienced as a child. 

And then then there are the men she encounters: most of them awful in their own ways. There's a young Richard Gere as the violent and racist hustler Tony (who still manages to be somewhat harming in the way that he perfected later in American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, and Pretty Woman), William Atherton, who is almost always a little slimy in every role, as the devoted Irish-Catholic "do-gooder" who wants Theresa to settle down into a life of domesticity, and is adored by Theresa's father, and a young Tom Berenger as a semi-closeted gay man who has what turns out to be a tragic and horrifying encounter with Theresa. (This is where I spoil the ending of a 48-year-old movie, but it needs to be done as a trigger warning. Tom Berenger's character, Gary Cooper White, murders Theresa in a quite disturbing final scene. It's not a graphically violent scene--as in there isn't any "blood and guts," but it's made clear what is happening. The murder is filmed in darkness with only a strobe effect. This makes the violence even more disturbing in that the viewer feels as disoriented as Theresa).

The only "good" male character is played by LeVar Burton. [It's amazing how many young actors there are making some of their earliest film appearances]. Burton plays the older brother of one of Theresa's deaf students. In one scene, Tony (Gere) is in the playground of Theresa's school, essentially stalking her. Burton's character ("Cap" Jackson), who was at the school with this sister, goes outside after seeing Theresa and Tony having a loud argument. Cap and Tony get into a tussle with Tony hurling racial epithets at Cap, but Cap gets the best of Tony, and he runs away. So, in as much as playing the "knight in shining armor" role is being a "good" guy (that can be debated), Cap at least is not someone who's trying to take advantage of Theresa in some way.

Throughout the movie, I had to check myself on my own "victim blaming." There are several times throughout the movie in which I said to myself or out loud, "why doesn't she get a deadbolt for her apartment door?" or, "why is she still hanging around with that creep?" The real question should be, "what the hell is wrong with these guys?!?"

In the end, I'm not sure what the movie is trying to say about Theresa or her life. but I tend to believe the movie sides with Theresa. She should be allowed to live her life as she sees fit and not be constrained by the mores of the times. 

I definitely recommend Looking for Mr. Goodbar for anyone who likes Diane Keaton or 1970s films. Keaton's performance is outstanding at Theresa, and I'd never seen her play a character quite like this any other of her films. Goodbar is also a fine snapshot of the late '70s disco scene. It might pair well with Saturday Night Fever, but without the brightly lit dance floor and white suits. As a side note, the music in Goodbar is outstanding.

So, please run out and see this movie and let me know what you think.