So last week, when I covered Mr. Majestyk, I had actually planned on covering several Bronson movies, but my enthusiasm for Bronson’s down home justice seemed to boil over and kind of ran away with my column. Turns out, a little Charles Bronson goes a long way. The good thing is I had plenty more Bronson for this week’s entry.
One of the things that I really love about the actor, especially earlier in his career, is that even though he always played a tough customer, he tried to really diversify what roles he took. Unlike Chuck Norris or Steven Seagal, who tended to pretty much play the same character over and over with little variance, Bronson tried to make a name for himself playing several different types of bad asses. While he often starred in Westerns and War films, there was a world of difference between his role as the claustrophobic “Tunnel King” in The Great Escape, and the unassuming everyman soldier Maj. Wolenski of The Battle of the Bulge. The same principle goes for his wood cutting gunfighter of The Magnificent Seven and the awesome vengeance seeker Harmonica in Once Upon a Time in the West.
It’s too bad that after the success of Death Wish, Bronson was basically locked into vigilante roles for the rest of his career. This isn’t to say that Bronson’s acclaim for his role as Paul Kersey in Death Wish wasn’t warranted, but it ultimately lead the actor’s career down the path of formula vigilante thrillers, from which he was never able to break free. This is made even worse by the fact that Bronson’s excellent work in previous thrillers was forgotten by the time he finally put his vigilantes to rest. Well, during a recent stint where I was pretty exclusively watching these flicks, I came across another one of these forgotten treasures.
The Mechanic Starring Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent. Directed by Michael Winner
A lone man walks the streets. He enters a seedy motel and rents a room, and then proceeds to unload some of the contents of a case he’s carrying on the bed. Looking across the street, he eyes the apartment building directly across from his. We cut back to the man’s own residence, we see that he actually lives in a palatial residence, with expensive art adorning its walls, a fireplace roaring in the background. He examines photos of the apartment he was spying on and stares at pictures of an older gentleman.
Eventually breaking into this apartment across the way, he fiddles with the gas stove, leaving a small, tube like object and some sort of corrosive substance. He plays with some of what are obviously the actual tenant’s groceries, and replaces a handful of teabag with some he has brought with him. Finally he spreads a peanut butter-like substances into a book and places it back on its shelf. Going back to the previous room, the man sits and waits for what’s seems like hours on end.
As the tenant of the apartment, the older man from the photos, finally arrives home, our intruder watches as he makes tea. The older man falls asleep. After nightfall, our subject takes aim with a high powered rifle. A shot rings out, hitting the book filled with plastic explosive. The apartment, now packed with gas, erupts in a giant fireball.
This is the opening sequence from Michael Winner’s The Mechanic, a film that could work perfectly fine on its simple formula, but achieves a small degree of greatness, due to the screen presence of its star and the terrific mood created by its director. Closer in tone to John Boorman’s Point Blank than it is to many of Charles Bronson’s other Actioners, such as Hard Times or Mr. Majestyk, the film stands as terrific mix of thunderous action, terrific cinematography, and wonderful ambiance. With film’s like this in his repertoire, its disappointing to really see how Bronson’s career devolved after having his biggest hit ever in Death Wish. If you even watch the trailer on the DVD for The Mechanic, you’ll notice the studio has changed the name of the film to Killer of Killers. This trailer was for a shady re-release of The Mechanic, trying to capitalize on the success of Death Wish, making it sound like this film was almost a remake, when in fact, nothing could be farther from the truth.
For a terrific example of this film’s nuance, one would only have to see the mastery involved in this film’s opening sequence, described above. Director Michael Winner is able to establish so many things in these first few moments without any words what so ever. There’s literally no dialogue for the picture first’s 16 minutes, and yet we learn so much about how Bronson’s character is a hitman with an obsessive eye for details. He lives comfortably because of his profession, but isn’t afraid to really get into a situation, to get his work done.
Now, those expecting Bronson to be playing another everyman hero because the movie is entitled The Mechanic may be sorely disappointed, because Charles Bronson does indeed not play a mechanic. His Arthur Bishop in this film refers to the term as a way to describe his own profession. Yes, he “fixes” things, but not in the same sense that a grease monkey does.
It goes to show just how underrated Bronson is as an actor that he would be so adept at playing so many unassuming heroes, but still convincingly play this upper crust killer. Winner gives us plenty of awesome sequences with Bishop training in martial arts, flying, and of course marksmanship. It’s Bronson though, that is somehow able to give Bishop a sympathetic character, even though we know he’s a cold blooded killer, even taking out a personal friend of his at one point.
There’s a distinct loneliness to the character though. Like many Hitman films, such as John Woos The Killer, The Professional, or Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, the assassin is shown to be a solitary profession, with the killer trying desperately to keep out human contact as a way to keep his own humanity in check due to the animal nature of his job. Bishop is shown with a woman, but he does not love her. At one point, Bishop is even shown to have a panic attack, with no outlet for the stress of his job finally weighing him down. It is not until a potential pupil comes into his midst that he seems to show some signs of his humanity.
Played by a young Jan-Michael Vincent, Bishop’s protégé is named Steve McKenna, the son of a socialite who appears on the outside to be another spoiled child of rich parents. Upon closer examination though, Bishop finds him to be an astute and eager student, ready to take up his mantle. With a potential legacy at stake, Bishop seems to be reinvigorated. Winner sets the last half of this film up as a Mentor/Student type picture with Bronson’s Bishop teaching McKenna all he knows.
The director sets up a key action sequence in this portion of the picture, as a botched hit turns into a labyrinth of a bike chase. There’s a terrific immediacy to the chase, as Bishop tries to keep his prey from getting out of his sight, while his target does what he can to lose his attacker by riding through every thing from pastures to dinner parties. The chase ends with what is either a truly spectacular stunt or one of the best uses of a dummy I’ve ever seen.
Problems arise as Bishop’s employers take issue with another potential leak in their system, and Bishop becomes the target, but is it McKenna that is assigned to take him out? Masterfully crafted together by the director, we’re made to wonder about everyone’s loyalties in an incredible third act, as a contract hit becomes a struggle for survival. Utilizing several interesting locations, including a yacht, a mountain road, and other settings, Winner shows an incredible flare for action. Bronson gets to really show his tough guy stuff here, as Bishop becomes a one man army, taking out other assassins with ingenuity and grit.
Also pretty decent is Jan-Michael Vincent, who is really able to tap into the sliminess this type of character would need, but at the same time is rather likeable enough that its believable that Bronson’s character would take him on. We’re shown how clod-blooded he can be in a scene where an ex-girlfriend threatens to kill herself, with McKenna only watching on instead of trying to stop the act. Later, though, we’re shown him saving Bishop’s skin several times, wondering about his real loyalty until the very end.
With terrific direction and a great sense of atmosphere The Mechanic is a superior thriller with some absolutely fantastic moments sprinkled throughout. Charles Bronson’s solid acting effort is boosted by the film’s eagerness to sustain its mood without just becoming a stupid Action film. Death Wish may have been his biggest hit, but The Mechanic is pound for pound a better movie.
