This is such a good film because the portrayals are so realistic. Donald Sutherland has been reduced lately to playing quirky bad guys. We forget that early on he was a leading man playing complex characters. In this movie we were exposed to the world of prostitution for one of the first times. Jane Fonda is victimized by a man who is fixated on her. She is involved in the investigation of a disappearance and Sutherland is the cop, Klute, who is brought in to investigate. As they explore her situation, he begins to fall in love with her. He also begins to become invested in her life because other prostitutes are dying at the hand of the monster they are pursuing. While uncomfortable to watch, this is well worth our time to view.

I was never really all that big of a Jane Fonda fan, still if you are to see any movie of her's watch this 1971 picture called "Klute" as Jane glows and shines on screen in a best actress Oscar winning role. "Klute" is a tease film of suspense and mystery drama with themes of sex, lust, truth seeking and murder all of that is jammed into a plot that's a little hard to follow it can challenge a viewer so pay attention.Set in New York city the story centers around Bree(in one of Jane Fonda's best roles) who's a high class escort a call girl type who's life is full of secrets and it's ready to spin out of control, still Bree has wit and she's one sexy thing she's good at her job as her sessions with guys are like that of a socialite girlfriend type and to go with it she's blunt and outspoken with a sassy mouth. Her voice has been taped by a killer, so Bree had better watch out! Now enter detective John Klute(Donald Sutherland)who's hired as a private investigator to follow this case that involves a missing person and the murders of others. And along the way sparks of passion fly between him and Bree. You will be left asking questions who done it and wonder really what's going on as the film takes twist and turns. Overall really good picture of suspense, lust, and mystery that's carried by the performance of Jane Fonda.

In the late 1960s and into the 70s, a lot of Hollywood films tried very hard to upend the old notions of movies. Instead of the nice old Production Code, the late 60s brought in all sorts of deliberately unsavory things--things meant to challenge traditional morality. Think about it...films like "Bonnie & Clyde" and "The Wild Bunch" brought violence to a whole new level. Additionally, films like "Sex and the Single Girl", "Midnight Cowboy" and this movie, "Klute" brought sex out of the closet and right into the audience's faces. Because of this, back in 1971 this film really had a big impact and brought Jane Fonda an Oscar for playing a prostitute. But is it good? I would say yes...but certainly not great. While Fonda's performance is very good, the story itself seems almost like an episode of "Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit". It was novel then but today it doesn't seem quite to groundbreaking. Overall, I'd score this one an 8 back in '71 and a 6 today.

Fine gritty dramatic mystery that gets the pulse of NYC in the early 70's just right. It becomes another character in the film which only strengths the picture and adds a certain creeping menace to it. While the movie pivots on the disappearance of a man it's really a character study of alienation with the investigation a peg to hang the main action on. Sutherland is fine as the inquiring detective John Klute but the film lives and dies on the character of Bree Daniels and Jane Fonda owns that part. Bree wants the world to believe she's one tough hard customer but as the film progresses it becomes more and more obvious that the bravado is a front. She displays raw, honest emotion in all her scenes but particularly in her therapy sequences. She shows so many layers to the character, including flashes of humor that Bree comes across as a real woman. Usually I try not to let appearance factor into my appraisal of a performance however that shag hairstyle is integral to the audience's acceptance of her as a tough call girl. Having moved forward and away from her initial image of the blonde cutie with her previous film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, she completely transforms herself in this. The soft blonde Jane Fonda of Barefoot in the Park or Barbarella of only a couple of years before would never be believable as Bree Daniels. The film was a major hit and she won her first Oscar for it. She was up against some excellent performances that year but she was the correct winner.Expertly directed by Pakula in his usual observant style this is a classic of '70's cinema. Highly recommended.