GLR September-October 2023

Midnight Love Affair

J AMES G ILBERT

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (Queer Film Classics Book 5) by Jon Towlson McGill Queen ’ s University Press. 113 pages, $19.95 T HE BEST FILM CRITICS recognize that a film exists in many different contexts, having gone through a series of passages from its initial conceptualization through writ ing, casting, and production, culminating in its critical and au dience reception. In his reconsideration of Midnight Cowboy , Jon Towlson suggests that, when seen from all of these per spectives, the film represents an important turning point in the presentation of gay themes — not quite a celebration of gay male bonding but a crucial step in this direction and thus a forerun ner to many films that followed. Towlson presents a painstaking and detailed analysis of the principal scenes in the film, indicating how they relate to the issues of gay sexuality, homophobia, masculine mythologies, and male friendship. Arguing against some mainstream critics who dismissed the film as vulgar or exploitative, he suggests that many of the elements that provoked these views were sim ply presentations of life as it was in New York City in the 1970s, notably the dangerous and depressing world of 42nd Street hustlers. Focusing on the relationship between Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman), the irascible grifter, and Joe Buck (Jon Voight), the aspiring gigolo from Texas, Towlson sees the growing friend ship and even love between the two figures as the central dy namic of the drama. While there ’ s no indication that the two men have a sexual relationship (though it could be interpreted that way), what matters more is the growing affection and mu tual caring between them. Both characters emerge through their failures and false illusions to join together in a relationship of mutual aid and interdependence. Towlson ’ s analysis begins with the 1965 novel by James Herlihy on which the film is based, pointing out what elements in the novel were eliminated or altered, and what elements were

John Voight and Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy .

added in the film version. He discusses the complicated rela tionship between the director, John Schlesinger, who was him self a gay man, and the issues addressed in the film. In a very interesting section, the author explores several of the negative reviews that the film received from major critics, who often re vealed their homophobia and hostility to its depiction of the New York gay scene. Finally, he highlights the profound influence that Midnight Cowboy exerted on subsequent moviemaking, suggesting that it was particularly important in creating the tradition of homo erotic buddy movies, as well as such films as Brokeback Moun tain that came much later. As a step toward the depiction of openly gay people in film, Midnight Cowboy was an important milestone. But most important, as the author recognizes, it ’ s a compelling love story that happens to involve two men. Whether this makes it a “ gay film ” is a matter of nomenclature but largely beside the point. ____________________________________________________ James Gilbert ’ s four novels include Murder at the Olympiad . &BOOKLOVERS READERS ATTENTION Tim’s Used Books 242 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA timsusedfilms@gmail.com | 508-487-0005 | Open year-round. Are TIM’S USED BOOKS of Provincetown has been traveling throughout the Northeast since 1991, buying book collections, large and small. Scholarly, gay interest, the arts—all genres. Immediate payment and removal.

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