Paul Schrader’s directorial debut, Blue Collar is a fairly typical spin on his own unique brand of morality tale and catholic tangent, that follows the dire straits of a group of Detroit auto-workers and their plot to embezzle money from the union that has failed them. The film is effectively an ensemble piece, and that how its billed, yet their is very much a “star-turn” in the shape of the performance of Richard Prior. 

An incredibly successful comedian, Richard Prior’s turn as Zeke Brown is surprisingly rich and layered, and nothing short of amazing for what most would consider to be his “serious” debut. Its the perfect combination of drama and comedy, and actually fairly moving. The nature of his relationship with Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto (as Jerry Bartowski and Smokey James respectively) is all the more impressive having heard since seeing the film that the core cast didnt actually get along in real-life. Between the three of them, and their slightly differing opinions on “the plight of the working man”, you really feel for their cause. There’s a satisfying amount of coverage, in terms of how the different stories are told, and though they are similar in nature, each man’s tale is surprisingly different within the context of the overall story. It’s incredibly subtle yet very effective. The characterisation proved especially powerful when the death of one of the characters was approached, lending itself a surprising amount of humility.  

The film is beautifully shot too, with the gritty locales (all filmed on location in Detroit) somehow managing to look as handsome as the wordplay is surreally poetic. It reminded of the early scenes set on the oil fields of Bob Rafelson’s Five Easy Pieces, impressing upon the viewer the notion that even the most imposing of situations can look impressive given the right aesthetic decisions.