Based on the novel of the same name by Charles Willeford, Cockfighter presents
arguably Warren Oates' best performance as Frank, a drifter torn
between the sport he knows and loves and his feelings for the woman who
adores him.
The opposite of the blowhard he played for director Monte Hellman in Two Lane Blacktop,
Frank maintains a vow of silence for most of the movie. Even so, like
the previous character, Frank travels down many roads, literally and
spiritually. The scenes of cockfighting are disturbingly realistic –
though they are not in fact real – and they're the perfect image of
Frank's inner struggle and obsession. Like Raging Bull, Cockfighter is a story about a man whose worst enemy is outside the ring: himself.
Magnificently shot by Nestor Almendros in rural Georgia – his first
American film after working with Truffaut, Rohmer, Chabrol and
Schroeder - the film has a quasi-documentary look, and the unique stamp
and idiosyncratic humour of cult director Monte Hellman...