Synopsis
After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.
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Cast
- Dustin HoffmanMax Dembo
- Theresa RussellJenny Mercer
- Gary BuseyWilly Darin
- Harry Dean StantonJerry Schue
- M. Emmet WalshEarl Frank
- Rita TaggartCarol Schue
- Kathy BatesSelma Darin
- Sandy BaronManny
- Jake BuseyHenry Darin
- Peter KwongGrocery Clerk
Recommendations
- 80
Chicago Reader
Despite some signs of muddle and uncertainty, this is a surprisingly strong picture about a convict (Hoffman) on parole in LA learning what the supposedly “normal” world is all about. - 80
The New York Times
Straight Time is not a movie to raise the spirits. It is so cool it would leave a chill were it not done with such precision and control that we remain fascinated by a rat, in spite of ourselves. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
Straight Time is a powerful film that shows a criminal as he is. The film has no tired explanations for Hoffman's behavior, no fingers are pointed, no apologies or excuses are offered. - 70
Newsweek
Small in scale, grittily realistic, charged with a fierce intelligence about how people live on the other side of the law, the film makes few concessions to an audience's expectations, but it has an edgy, lingering intensity. [03 Apr 1978, p.91] - 63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Straight Time is an exquistitely crafted film, loaded with good performances, propelled by excellent direction and brimming with heart-wrenching suspense. Unfortunately, it is also overwhelmingly depressing. [24 Mar 1978] - 60
Time Out
One yearns for a routine cops and robbers story, but Grosbard lingers with illusory impartiality over the technical details of the parole system, the problems of finding accommodation and work, and the nastiness of the backyard pool-and-barbecue life-style of riche America. - 50
The New Yorker
The script has first-rate, hardheaded, precise, sometimes funny dialogue, but it errs in bringing this girl too much to the center. Dramatically, the film lacks snap; there isn't enough tension in the way Max destroys his freedom, and so the story drags--it seems to have nowhere to go but down. - 50
Washington Post
This story has explosive screen possibilities. What it seems to lack is an incendiary star. [22 Mar 1978, p.D9]
