I wonder how they chose Sutherland for the role (very good choice, anyway). He is far from our usual "handsome hero" (at that time he had none of the charm he would later acquire and that would make him a very attractive man, although not "classically" handsome).
Did they want him to be awkward in contrast with beautiful Jane Fonda?
(sorry for my English).
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I don't know what their intentions were, but in the film Sutherland exudes a quietness, a kind of sublime understatement uncharacteristic of the typical noir or neo-noir (anti-)hero. He's the polar opposite of a typical movie P.I. -- a quiet, strange-looking, observant little man who displays none of the slick charm and cunning sarcastic wit of a guy like Bogart. This is just one more way in which the film subverts noir tropes.
To me, Sutherland's fascinatingly "empty" quality in the film is just as impressive as Fonda's extroverted emotional roller-coaster.
I don't know what their intentions were, but in the film Sutherland exudes a quietness, a kind of sublime understatement uncharacteristic of the typical noir or neo-noir (anti-)hero.
@asktheages: Thanks a lot for your thorough and interesting explanation.
I have always found him a very appealing actor, but this was a different side of him and I was definitely impressed.
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