NETWORK

NETWORK
Now Streaming on Netflix
Comedy/Drama
4/5 Stars

Network is a film that is ahead of its time in concept but not execution. The pace is less like a rollercoaster and more like a tunnel of love. Minus the love. The actors are very strong in the roles, but apart from Peter Finch’s brilliant turn as a news anchor turned mad prophet, none of the characters are likeable. The script is savage and savvy (it won Paddy Chayefsky the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay), but also has many longwinded tirades, trading pontification over conversation. I don’t want to say Network has a lot of monologuing, but I’m pretty sure even Aquaman would have had time to spoil its evil plot.
And speaking of evil plots, what a downer this turned out to be! I thought it was a fantasy about how one man with nothing to lose could make a difference. In truth the film is a nihilistic satire of network news and everything it could, and in many cases has, become. (Though the script’s prescience is somewhat undercut by references to “Kojak” and “The Bionic Woman”.) Instead of giving us the good fight against corruption, the film just gives us an exhibition of how greed destroys even the pure and idealistic. The film opts for brains over heart, which just might be its fatal flaw.