In the 1970s, Al Pacino rarely had a misstep. Coming off the monumental success of the two Godfather films, Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, it seemed that every film he did was destined to be a classic. Unfortunately Bobby Deerfield, released in 1977 and directed by Sydney Pollack, was a rare misfire.
The film stars Pacino as the titular character Bobby Deerfield, an emotionally distant race car driver. As the film opens, Deerfield watches as a fellow driver is killed in a crash. What bothers Bobby is that the car the driver was racing is a duplicate of Bobby’s. He becomes obsessed with finding out what’s wrong with the car.
This takes him to a Swiss clinic where he meets with another driver that survived the crash. It is there that he meets Lillian Morelli (Marthe Keller), a slightly off-kilter patient who doesn’t have long to live. Unfortunately the film then becomes a digression into another version of “Love Story” with Lillian teaching Bobby that life is sweeter when you take a risk.
Pacino, to his credit, turns in one of his more underrated and understated performances here. Deerfield is a Newark boy who’s the hit of the European race circuit. He’s got product endorsements, a sexy French girlfriend but he seems completely cut off emotionally from himself and the world. An early scene with his brother shows just how deep the disconnect is with his own family. If only the rest of the film could have been as good.
Pacino gives a slow burn performance here with much more going on underneath than he lets on. Keller does a good job of portraying a slightly manic character but too often comes off as an annoying loon. The film would have been better off had it just been about Deerfield.
The love story between Pacino and Keller never really involves you and more often than not comes off as forced and boring. Then there is also the factor that Deerfield is in the dark as to Lillian’s terminal condition despite a scene where he strokes her sleeping head only to have a large hunk of her hair come out in his hand. Wouldn’t he be curious as to what’s going on especially since she basically walked out of a clinic?
The film seems more like a travelogue for Europe at times with the gorgeous backdrops of Paris, Switzerland and Italy playing prominently. For a film that’s about a race car driver, there are only two major race scenes. Grand Prix (1966) and Le Mans (1971) this film is not. What little race footage there is was captured by racing cinematographers during the 1976 Formula One season and features real drivers such as Mario Andretti.
For Pacino purists who have never seen the film, I would say rent it but don’t buy it. You’ll definitely be impressed by Pacino’s performance but you’ll end up wondering why the film itself wasn’t more interesting.
Bobby Deerfield is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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