Astonishingly this thriller is one of the creepier films, not to be placed in the horror genre, that I have ever seen. Between the childlike voices in the score, the voyeurism from the murderer, and the strange ending, this film crept under my skin and lingered. Jane Fonda gives the performance of a lifetime as Bree, an unaffected prostitute who is wrapped up in a game of intrigue after one of her former clients disappears. Strait laced PI, Klute, comes to the city to find him and she falls in with the investigator. Most of what makes the film gritty and realistic comes from Bree, who is one of the most interesting female characters in seventies' cinema. She has long term goals to be an actress or model, but she doesn't see the problems with that goal, and she is also stubborn to see the inaccuracies in the world. She respects her clients when she's with them, but she feels shame and resentment towards them and herself. Bree is both audacious when confronted with her world and sullen towards the implications of her actions, making her interactions with Klute that much more interesting. Whenever Fonda is onscreen she illuminates with her performance, creating a complex portrayal of a sanguine woman without many options left. Thrilling and yet creepy, this is a film highly recommended for the hardhearted and the brave.

What probably read as a pretty uninteresting story is brought to stunning, sanguine life by Alan J. Pakula. The plot is thin and unsatisfying, and I don't think I'll ever truly get Donald Sutherland's complete disinterest in everything he gets cast in, but the center of the film is rightly Jane Fonda's high-class hooker Bree. Watching her move through this bizarrely cryptic, sinister world is captivating; she digs her talons into the psychology of this angry, intelligent woman and doesn't let go. It is a full, consummate performance, fabulous and yet oddly underseen work. She is clearly the center of Pakula's aesthetic; I found his mise-en-scene to be something of a representation of Bree herself, enigmatic and obscured but in some ways very forthcoming. The gruesome parts are easy to see, but everything else feels hidden away. If you're looking for a subtly stylish, quiet thriller with one instance of excellent character work, Klute will fit the bill. It isn't perfect, lacking dramatic impact and not fully scaffolded by all involved, but its visual clout is clear.