Hopscotch - Ronald Neame
The only thing that propels me to see every movie by a Tom, Dick, and Harry is that once in a while, by sheer chance on basis of the large numbers involved, I get my hands on one these classic masterpieces that people seem to have forgotten. After a week of seeing what I very generously term “action flicks with hot chicks” (now that I think of it this topic in itself deserves a blog post), Hopscotch was a reminder that you don’t need to make a few hundred cars to blow up and a few million bullets to be fired to make a good spy movie. Yes, The Bourne Ultimatum does give you that nice adrenaline rush as Matt Damon runs through world capitals like he runs through his list of girlfriends or something but it does get boring after a time. Movies like Hopscotch though you could see anytime.
The idea that spies are this set of nasty people, more like machines and rather indestructible too, is what comes when you read much too many Ludlum or Follett novels. On the other hand, if you are fan of the early Forsyth or the Le Carre (minus their moodiness) protagonists you would see spies as rather smart people who more than anything else have dollops of black humor poured on them and are rather nihilistic since they do the job not for the love of some flag or something but because they are good at it. Miles Kendig portrayed immaculately by Walter Matthau is one such spy. And he is taken off the field by his I-really-want-to-punch-you-on-the-face boss Myerson and decides to teach the entire agency a lesson. The old dog then proceeds to run rings around them before publishing a book of his memoirs. And yes there is romance with an old flame and the evil Russian as well, who seems to enjoy the game of his friend as much as his American boss hates it.
In his Criterion Collection essay Bruce Eder says
Ronald Neame’s Hopscotch has the distinction of being the only “feel-good” realistic spy film ever made. As the movie walks a fine line between serious drama and satirical comedy, and between topicality and escapism, it beguiles the viewer with its sophistication and complexity. The most surprising aspect of Hopscotch, however, may not be how well it walks that tightrope, but that its makers accomplished this balancing act in an era that saw the spy movie genre reduced to tales of relentless despair.
Add to this a touch of tongue-in-cheek Brit humor and you have a perfect cocktail. But seriously, don’t take his or my word for it. Go and watch it.
