I’ve never read the book, although perhaps I should. I’ve heard very good things. I’m a little more on the fence about my interpretation of the movie now, having participated in this thread. But I still think the movie very much glorifies the macho violence, with a little addendum about how bad it is tacked on. Maybe Boorman was having his cake and eating it too.
From the movie I didn’t get that Ed was so much becoming detached from society as showing possible signs of PTSD (from only the one scene at the end, it’s hard to tell). But it sounds like the book goes into that more.
Something that’s been debated is whether or not Drew intentionally fell from the canoe and killed himself. I’ve watched the scene dozens of times and can’t decide if he accidentally fell or did it himself. Curious what the book says.
Correct. From the book:
*“Sheriff: Ok. So long. Have a good trip.
Ed: So long. And I hope Deputy Queen finds his brother-in-law.
Sheriff: Aw, he’ll come in drunk. He’s a mean bastard anyway. Old Queen’s sister’d be better off without him. So would everybody else.”
*
I can’t recommend the book strongly enough. One of my five desert island books, I’ve read it several times since the 70’s. I find Dickey’s story (and his real life persona) a little disturbing, but the craftsmanship, artistry, and beauty of his writing in Deliverance is breathtaking.
Book again: Ed and Bobby can’t tell whether or not Drew’s (corpse) headwound is from a bullet, so they force Lewis to look at it. Lewis is very badly injured at this point, but is the only one with experience in such matters. Lewis needs only a glance to determine Drew was grazed by a bullet.
The Griners have agreed to follow the guys to the put-in spot on the river in order to drive the cars to the take-out point downstream. They can’t accomplish that without following them to that departure spot.
Yes, but we see one of them, who might or might not be the toothless bastard, throw a gun in the following vehicle, IIRC, and the gun is a double barrel shotgun as used in the rape scene.
I don’t think the movie is a satire at all, but it’s still an absolutely savage deconstruction of toxic modes of masculinity. I don’t know if that was the intent - knowing what I do about both Boorman and Dickey, I tend to doubt it - but taking the work of its own, the message I get is that the concept of masculinity that all these characters are pursuing from the very beginning of he movie ultimately destroys all of them. Watching it as a man, there’s not a single character there that I would want to emulate. It is, to me, not an aspirational film, but a cautionary one. “Do not be like these men,” is what I get from it.
Clarification:
My praises for the book notwithstanding, I do find the story a bit disturbing.
I’ve read that Dickey could be a blustery macho asshole. One illuminating account was Summer Of Deliverance, written by Dickey’s journalist son Christopher.
Clearly, because of his work in advertising. Or maybe because of his failure in his work in advertising.
Just think of what he might have accomplished, if he’d put his Deliverance work into his advertising copy for Coke: “Squeal Like a Pig!” may have replaced “The Pause that Refreshes!”.
I like this interpretation a lot too, especially as I subscribe to the philosophy of ‘kill the author’ when it comes to analysis. I’m always interested in unintentional themes in film and literature.
I’m going to have to give this movie another look sometime. I think I’ll read the book, at any rate.
