scarecrow probably suffers from the comparisons that it ultimately draws to films like easy rider and midnight cowboy. and, really, the essence of the plots are pretty similar. there is a cross country road trip where a couple of people have a goal in mind. the film spends a long time with these characters and really setting up the milieu era that they are living in. there are definitely some of the same joys to be had in this film, although it doesn't do it nearly as well as some of the other films that are made out of this mold. the film doesn't quite stick the landing even though and i'm not sure i understand how that ending was supposed to play with the rest of the film. it seemed pretty out of place to me and it doesn't seem like the requisite buildup and set up was done to make that moment and the climactic actions mean a lot to the audience. because that meaning is lost on the audience, the ending of the film seems tone deaf and doesn't really work well within the movie. i think that it could have benefited from a slower less dramatic ending that would have really highlighted the lives of these people from a very specific time and socioeconomic situation. with the way that the film did end, it never really led the audience to the revelations about the human conditions and about the lives of these characters and the bod between them that it thought it led us too. in that sense, this film failed where many other films like it succeeded. this film never really found its rhythm or its thematic point of view either. this is different from a film that purposefully does not have a thematic point of view. this one definitely tries to find one and tries to convey it to the audience through the narrative that it was trying to tell but somewhere along the way, that message got obscured a little too much. that isn't to suggest that there aren't some really good elements of this film. the acting in here is a joy to watch on its own. in this film, it is very clear how much acting talent both gene hackman and al pacino have. while they may have faded during certain portions of their career, they are both very very talented and it really shows in their performances. subtle, yet purposeful and somewhat powerful. the acting of these two actors leads to some really nice and enjoyable moments that are sprinkled throughout this film. i suppose that is probably the reason to see this film. there are some really good low key moments as these two characters traverse the different landscapes and interact with many different people over the course of the film. there is definitely stuff to key in on, especially in the first half of the film. the ending kind of undermines all that is set up and the effectiveness of these moments but it is still nice to drift along with these characters for a little bit.