Network

Having had watched the fantastic stage play starring Bryan Cranston in Broadway last year, it was inevitable that comparisons would be made whilst watching this scarily prescient 1976 pitch-black satire. The biggest difference was that in Sidney Lumet's film, the three leads - Faye Dunaway, Peter Finch and William Holden - shared the screen almost equally with possibly Dunaway as the first lead. Whereas in the stage play, Cranston was ostensibly the lead with Tatiana Maslany and Tony Goldwyn (who has been aged down compared to Holden) as supporting characters. But what remained constant was the biting screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky which has hauntingly remained relevant now and chillingly foretold our current situation 40 years later. That was what made Network the play so relevant when it was staged.

Chayefsky's screenplay remained, to this day, a staggering tour de force. A bitingly funny satire not only about the newsroom, but also about how we consume culture and information. And the most piercing thing about it was that it was staggeringly relevant back in the 70s and still so bloody accurate in the new-20s! Our obsession with social media, the internet and fast culture simply replaced the 70s preoccupation with television and the burgeoning pop culture. So many great lines in the film and so many of them remained prescient and true till now.

Lumet's direction kept the film going at a brisk pace. The emotional entanglements never bogged down the satirical commentary and the supporting players like Robert Duvall (so very Duvall!), Ned Beatty and Marlene Warfield helped to keep the tempo going in their own scenes. Although Lumet did tend to veer towards the melodramatic at some points. 

Finch, a Best Actor Oscar winner for this role, was great in his role as Howard Beale who brought a different energy to Beale as compared to Cranston. Finch appeared to be more of a desperate, resigned revolutionary compared to Cranston's angry and ready-for-change prophet. Regardless, Finch was arresting and when he rants, he commanded the screen and everybody's attention.

Dunaway, also an Oscar winner for Best Actress, stole the show. For all of Finch's bluster and showboating, he was decidedly one-note. Dunaway, on the other hand, was a full blown concerto, a heady mixture of adjectives: brassy, uncompromising, brash, rash, sexual, smart, vulnerable, cynical. Here was a female character way ahead of her time and unapologetic for it. Kudos to Lumet, Chayefsky and Dunaway for giving life to this amazing character! Dunaway owned this film and very much deserved for Oscar for it. It was a pity they did not match her up against Finch. 

Holden, a fellow Best Actor nominee, had the quieter role. His Max Schumacher was more reserved and less showy, but was the emotional heart of the film. He represented the people of the older time who still cherished real emotional connect and not just the fleeting highs (and lows) offered by pop culture (and internet binges). His breakup scenes with Dunaway and Beatrice Straight (a Best Supporting Actress winner for an emotionally showy 5-minutes appearance) was an achingly honest bit of emotional vulnerability in a bleak tragicomedic satire.

Network was an utterly engaging and fascinating film to watch with a solid cast to match. A bleakly dark satire that delivered an emotional gut punch and (uncomfortable) laughs as it sent chills with its breathtakingly prescient insights.