POINT BLACK (1967)

Point Blank (1967)

Point Blank is a bold, experimental neo-noir that redefined the revenge thriller for a new era. Directed by John Boorman and starring a magnetic Lee Marvin, the film is a stylistic and psychological tour de force—part gangster movie, part existential fever dream. Though rooted in pulp (based on Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Hunter), Boorman transforms the material into something far more abstract and haunting.

Marvin plays Walker, a betrayed man left for dead, who returns with a cold, unrelenting focus—not just on revenge, but on reclaiming what he believes is rightfully his. His performance is stripped down to pure physicality: stoic, brutal, and increasingly ghostlike. He moves through the corporate criminal underworld not as a man, but almost as a symbol—of rage, betrayal, or inevitability.

The film’s fragmented editing, non-linear structure, and stark use of color and architecture break conventional storytelling boundaries. Boorman uses the modernist landscape of Los Angeles as an emotional void, turning luxury homes, airports, and high-rises into echo chambers of isolation and greed. Dialogue is sparse; atmosphere is everything.

Point Blank isn’t about plot twists or cathartic showdowns. It’s about mood, memory, and disconnection. The result is hypnotic—a violent ballet of cold detachment. Though underappreciated on release, it’s now regarded as one of the most influential crime films of the late 1960s, laying the groundwork for Drive, The Limey, and many others.