Cinema Revisited: The Mechanic (1972)
Directed by Michael Winner. Cast: Charles Bronson, Jan Michael Vincent, Jill Ireland, Keenan Wynn, Frank DeKova, Celeste Yarnell, Enzo Fiermonte. Released November 17, 1972. Running time: 100 minutes
Charles Bronson had a long and varied career. By the time he made "The Mechanic," he had been in movies for twenty years. In the 50s he played some supporting roles in such noted films as "Pat and Mike" (1952) and "House of Wax" (1953). In the 60s he showed up in hits like "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "Kid Galahad" (1962), "The Great Escape" (1963), and "The Dirty Dozen" (1967). Bronson worked primarily overseas in the late 60s and early 70s in films like "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1968), "The Family" (1970), "Red Sun" (1971) and "The Valachi Papers" (1972) in which he turns in one of his best performances.
Returning to America in 1972, Bronson found his niche in action dramas, which would reach its peak with "Death Wish" (1974), and continue through the 1980s with popular, exhilarating productions like "The Evil That Men Do" (1984), "Murphy's Law" (1986), and "Messenger of Death" (1989).
Michael Winner's "The Mechanic" is the first film Charles Bronson appeared in upon returning to America after his stint in Europe. It is an action drama that can be considered the catalyst for Bronson's continued work in the field of bluntly visceral cinema. Having its own niche, this sub-genre can now, in retrospect, be cited as a type of cinematic art form, as the best efforts featuring Bronson (including "The Stone Killer," "Ten to Midnight," and the aforementioned "Death Wish") were the benchmarks for the later, more aggressive productions mostly made for the Cannon Group, whose niche was medium budget films that performed well in American drive-ins and throughout Europe (and, later, on video).
Keenan Wynn plays Harry McKenna, the head of a secret organization that employs Arthur Bishop (Bronson) as a hit man. Harry is designated by the organization as Bishop's next victim. After Harry is dead, Bishop takes his young adult son Steve (Jan Michael Vincent) under his wing. The intrigued, and ruthless, Steve is eager to learn all that Bishop knows.
It is easy to see why "The Mechanic" set the foundation for Bronson's subsequent action dramas. While being very taut and narratively engrossing, it is punctuated with jarringly brutal violence. The film opens with a 15 minute segment that has no dialog. It shows Bishop carefully arriving at his destination, setting up his hit, and executing it. Winner's succession of shots and use of darkness and light is most effective. Bronson's economy of expression and general stoicism helps make the sequence work so well.
The killing of Harry is another strong scene early in the film. Bishop creatively has Harry at the bottom of a mountain and shoots at him, making it seem like a sniper. He commands Harry to run to the car, yelling "it's a setup," realizing he has a weak heart. Harry does so, and can't catch his breath once in the car. Realizing the situation, he tells Bishop to kill him.
Bronson's character is given some level of layered backstory in a scene where Harry recalls Bishop as a youngster falling out of a fishing boat unable to swim. He laughs while recalling how Bishop's father made no attempt to rescue him. The pensive reaction from Bishop shows us that such moments contributed to his demeanor and his choice of activity. "That was a long time ago," he says, Bronson delivering the line with just the right amount of sorrow and anger.
The real highlight is the film's conclusion when Steve is given orders to take out Bishop. He does so with poison while the two are on a mission in Italy (which was a setup and results in a gunfight between them and others). When Steve returns to America he goes to Bishop's home to pick up his car, which he had left there. There is a note on the rear-view mirror, which states: "Steve, if you read this it means I didn't make it back. It also means you've broken a filament controlling a 13-second delay trigger. End of game. Bang! You're dead." The car explodes, killing him.
In "The Mechanic," Jan Michael Vincent offered one of the finest performances in his career. Vincent had done TV work on everything from "Gunsmoke" to "The Banana Splits" (in an episodic drama featured on the show). When he went into "The Mechanic" he was just coming off the odd videotaped fantasy drama "Sandcastles." Upon completing so brutal of a film as "The Mechanic," Vincent was pleased to relax into the Disney comedy "The World's Greatest Athlete." Hit films like "Buster and Billie," "Bite the Bullet," "White Line Fever" and "Baby Blue Marine" followed, but Vincent's substance abuse problems hampered his career. He commanded a salary of $250,000 per week while starring on TV's "Airwolf," but his substance abuse problems were so bad, he'd show up on the set too drunk to say his lines. He kept working, appearing in many straight-to-video items during the 90s, but also had a role in Vincent Gallo's "Buffalo 66." He left acting not long after suffering a broken neck in a car accident, and died in 2019 after continued health problems. Shortly before his death, he'd show up at autograph shows in a wheelchair, part of his right leg amputated, and while he enjoyed meeting his fans, his appearance was described as "heartbreaking."
And Charles Bronson was firmly establishing a lofty niche as a stoic, empowered, emotionally charged central character whose revenge motives were clear motivation for his actions. This veteran actor found a solid base for his abilities and utilized them in projects that fit this niche perfectly.
"The Mechanic" is one of the more enjoyable crime dramas of the early 70s, a powerful and exciting film that holds up well as late as the 21st century.