Warren Oates

For those of you who don't know, Warren Oates is one of my favorite actors of all time. He's on a short list (which I don't put too much thought into and is a work in
progress) with Henry Fonda and DeNiro. The film is Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, by Sam Peckinpah, and it's one of my favorite titles ever. This is a showcase of sorts, for Oates. The central character, Benny, is a hustler living in Mexico and in love with a prostitute. He takes on the mission of getting Alfredo Garcia's head for a hefty ransom, in order to make a life with the woman he loves. Tragedy strikes when she is killed and he is left for dead.

The Peckinpah style vengeance takes the momentum of the film after that point, when Benny sets about finding the orgins of his mission. His obsession takes over his life and he begins talking to himself and the head. He loses his grip on reality.

These are themes that I like in my films. Oates realistically portrays one man's descent into pathetic madness. The film is filled with slow motion shootouts and archetypal characters. This is a film bordering on mythic in it's approach.

It falls short in many ways for me, the first of which being the early half of the film and it's disjointed structure. The gaps in logic and story as well as stilted dialogue, reign supreme in this section. The last 30 minutes the film picks up it's pace and the myth making tone feels right. It's as though Peckinpah was rushing to the finale. Skipping on coherent and believable plot in favor of Oates' performance "tics".

Oates is the star of the film and the major draw for anyone viewing. Very few actors could combine dark aviator shades and a white suit to make a powerful performance.

The film gets 3 netflix stars.