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Network Movie Review

Network is a 1976 satirical black comedy drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Paddy Chayefsky and starring Faye Dunaway and Peter Finch. It’s such a prescient film.

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“I’m as mad as hell,

and I’m not going to take this anymore!“

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A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor’s ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control. When this movie was first released, it was renowned for its screenplay and performances, which it still is, but nowadays the movie holds even more power for everything that it got right about the state of media and how unscrupulous they are.

Watching this classic film today is an unnerving, depressing experience. Yes, it’s a funny movie, but it’s also very much disturbing as it pinpoints everything that was wrong back then with journalism and television, but problems that would only become more insurmountable as the subsequent decades rolled along.

Corruption of the television industry is so well explored here, but even more demoralizing was the depiction of mass media’s power to manipulate people and even dehumanize them. The movie hints at the unprofessional, biased nature of media that would only become worse in the decades to come. It’s such a powerful message piece that begs the question why are we not getting a similar film for today’s media that needs to be brought down a peg desperately.

The screenplay by the famed Paddy Chayefsky is remarkable, but so are the acting performances from its impressive ensemble cast. This is one of the most iconic Oscar winners, a film that ended up winning in three of the four acting awards, and all were very much deserved. Faye Dunaway was incredible in the role of this very cold, ambitious woman who is incapable of love. This is one of her best and most memorable roles for sure.

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Another standout was Peter Finch, who actually isn’t in the movie as much as you’d think he is, but that only goes to show how iconic his role and especially dialogue is that you remember him the most when all is said and done. His revolutionary speech is unforgettable of course, but Finch’s line delivery was so strong that he sold it entirely. It’s an impressively unhinged, powerhouse performance that garnered him an Oscar win, but an unfortunately posthumous one.

Another person worthy of high praise is Beatrice Straight. She got just one major sequence to shine and she did just that, delivering such an outstanding, emotionally charged turn in the role of a deeply hurt woman that it led to her undeniably deserved Oscar win. Her performance remains the shortest to ever win an Oscar. William Holden was also nominated and he was terrific as well, though some of his dialogue tended to be too preachy and unrealistic. Robert Duvall and Ned Beatty both managed to hold their own in much smaller, but still important roles.

While I did love Network’s script, I did still have a few issues with it, especially the pacing and structure of the movie that is quite uneven. The film jumped from a more satirical comedy in the first half to a straightforward drama in the second one. Suddenly, a lot of marital, personal drama was emphasized, and although I found this section emotionally investing and very sophisticated, it did not have much to do with the main plot when you think about it. Also, some of the dialogue could become a bit too preachy and lacking in naturalism.

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With that being said, Network remains a classic of seventies cinema, one that was beautifully shot with cinematography that aptly became more commercial and artificial as the story went along. The directing from Sidney Lumet is remarkable and this is one of his best efforts. It’s a shame that he never won an Oscar. While not all of the humorous sequences worked, most definitely did in this film that is as much a funny black comedy as it is a searing drama. It remains one of the best films of 1976 and one of the worst decisions by the Academy to honor ‘Rocky’ over it and ‘Taxi Driver’.