Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is having an awful time in life. His wife is
dead, he has no kids, and he’s about to be fired from his job. Is it all that surprising
that he snaps then? A terrible psychosis kicks in and on the nightly news
broadcast where he announces his retirement, he also announces he plans to kill
himself. The people in the editing room are so used to the typical routine of
news broadcasting that they initially don’t even notice that he’s made plans
for suicide on the air in two weeks.
The network scrambles to deal with the aftermath and most
think Howard is crazy and ought to be fired. But Diane Christensen (Faye
Dunaway) sees an opportunity; USB’s ratings went up after Howard’s candid talk
to his audience and Diane realizes that they could have a real hit on their
hands if they let Howard speak his mind. Diane plays all the angles and
convinces network executive Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall) to produce a show
hosted by Howard.
What follows is an incredibly funny, but also slightly
terrifying, (and admittedly sort of implausible) look at the power of television and its power to construct the
world and our lives. There’s, of course, Howard’s now infamous line: “I’m mad
as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore”. Soon after we find his fans
all across the country accepting his advice, opening their windows, and yelling
at the top of their lungs this refrain. It’s undoubtedly hilarious but it’s
also a nice statement on television’s influence. In many ways, Network feels ahead of its time; sure,
television was big back in 1976, but now pop culture is even more pervasive.
Studios increasingly go out of their way to create the most sensational content
to garner audiences in an increasingly fragmented marketplace.
Bolstered by a great cast,
a great script by Paddy Chayefsky, and sure handed direction by Sydney Lumet, Network is prescient, funny, intelligent, dark, and a whole lot of fun.
Grade: A-
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