Klute
Alan J. Pakula, 1971, 114 min

"I love inhibitions because they're so nice to get rid of." New York call girl Bree Daniels says. Jane Fonda is the star of Klute, a moody detective thriller in the noir style, and received an unexpected Oscar at the lowest point of her popularity with middlebrow America. But her showcase performance as Bree, a prostitute stalked by a psychopath, wouldn’t work without Donald Sutherland’s contrasting portrayal of John Klute, an introverted detective drawn into Bree’s world when he taps her phone and follows her. It’s a very subtle and self-effacing performance in which Sutherland finds a way to portray basic decency without becoming sentimental. The gradual development of the love affair between him and Fonda is beautifully handled by both actors.