Cool Hand Luke (1967) and the Portrayal of Christianity

John boy, let me tell you something. You know them chains ain't medals. You got them for making mistakes. And you make a bad enough mistake, and then you gotta deal with the Man. And he is one rough old boy.

This movie has stirred something up within me, something so intense and hot and rousing; a story of a man of such messianic conviction and singular vision that he inspires Christ-like adoration. 

Through multiple "miracles" wherein he showcases the diligent and quiet strength of his will, Luke gains the respect of the other inmates. but this respect is an allegory for the faith that Christ had inspired in his followers; it must be backed up by the proof of miracles. must we really see to believe? Must we truly challenge others to prove the strength of their qualities?

Yet in contention to this point, Rosenberg's depiction of Luke is carefully constructed in such a perfect way that it allows him to comment on the culture around christianity that fosters this blind conviction. what is right and what is wrong in how the characters deal with this faith and respect? When the wardens of the jailhouse are being depicted as christians, they are god-fearing men but in which sense of the word? Are they truly good men of the law or are they men who lean on their titles? Do they follow the words of God based on their virtue or their structure? 

Luke becomes a figure of this blind faith for those in the compound, at one point it morphs into a twisted version of itself that he himself becomes aware of, (wherein they live vicariously through him, treating his freedom as something mythic) at which point he rejects this in a rare display of rage.

Get out there yourself. Stop feedin' off me!

And that display of rage is what rouses me; this movie is a loving depiction of the purity of Christ yet is a commentary on how people love Christ. We live in a world wherein people obey Gospel Truth, in their rigidity they mask their own personal human (and sometimes bigoted) values with the face of faith, instead of living with the unadulterated untainted virtue and compassion that religion is meant to impart.

Luke's is a pure stoicism almost completely untainted by the ugliest human desires and traits, an enveloping pure flame on a candle that burns at both ends. characters like these that seem untainted by malice and exist wholly within their good nature are destined to die martyrs, as they are more powerful in their deaths than they are in life. In his death he continues to inspire the inmates, with Dragline being his main apostle, telling tales of his purity, while bearing the chains of his conviction.

Originally posted on Letterboxd on 26th November, 2023