The Rape Scene in Deliverance: “I Didn’t Read That Much Sex Into It.”

I was watching the 35th anniversary DVD of Deliverance (inspired by Kim Morgan’s recent interview with the four main guys), and while there is a lot of awesome information in the extensive documentary about the making-of this classic film, I was mostly struck by the section where everyone talks about Bill McKinney, the “mountain man” character who rapes Ned Beatty in one of the most memorable and devastating scenes in the film (and in any film). Director John Boorman talked about how they filmed in sequence and so as that scene approached, the entire cast and crew started tensing up, getting ready for it. He also said that he wasn’t sure how to approach it until he found the location, and something about the light through the laurel leaves and those brown leaves on the ground and the sloping ground told him exactly how to shoot it.

But it was Bill McKinney’s words that have stayed with me.

Sometimes it’s the simplicity of good actors that has reverb. There is some mystery to good acting, although I suppose we all know it when we see it, because it has the stamp of authenticity, whether it’s Charlie Chaplin making dinner rolls dance or Gena Rowlands running out into traffic in Woman Under the Influence. The mystery of acting, however, goes hand in hand with its simplicity and you will find that most good actors speak in very simple terms. You may wonder: “How did you APPROACH this scene, for God’s sake?” But the nuts-and-bolts are usually very simple, and it’s Acting Class 101. One of the first things actors have to learn is to love obstacles, to court obstacles, to seek them out, to embrace them. The only way to play your objective strongly is to play it up against some obstacle. An obvious example is pleading for your life if someone is trying to kill you. Things are very cut and dry in that moment. You don’t need to do much, other than play your objective with every fiber of your being. And if the obstacle is equally as strong (which it always is with good acting), then, boom, there you have your scene. But this is true in subtler situations too which are not necessarily life or death. My great acting teacher Sam Schacht would say to us, when we would get stuck in making a scene happen, “Just remember: Every scene is Fight or Fuck. If you get stuck, choose one of those objectives, and see where it takes you.” I haven’t seen a good scene yet that does not line up with that very simple principle. And good actors truly understand this, in their DNA. If you ask a good actor in an acting class, “What were you working on in the scene?”, the answer will usually be very simple. Or, to add a layer of complexity: even good actors get lost sometimes, even good actors over-complicate things. Actors are, by their very nature, highly analytical as well as deeply emotional, and if you are “lost” in terms of what you should be playing, you can really mess yourself up. A reliable clue is, if you ask an actor what he is working on, and he proceeds to talk for 20 minutes, you know he is lost. I have been there myself. It’s true in writing as well, and I went through that recently when working on my final draft of my script. If a moment was confusing, to an actor, to someone reading it, and I found myself talking for 30 minutes about what the moment meant and was supposed to be …. then that was a strong clue to me that I myself actually did not know what I was talking about. Every moment should be able to be boiled down into a simple statement. Even something like King Lear or Hamlet. Yes, there is much to analyze, but in the end, you can boil those plays down into one sentence. (This was Kazan’s approach to script analysis, too, as well as Clurman’s.)

Actors, as well as directors, need to think along those lines, and the good ones always do. The GREAT ones usually can’t even talk about what they were “doing”, because it’s so intuitive in them, that it is difficult for them to find themselves on a wrong path.

So listen to how actors talk about what they do.

Listen carefully.

Directors can often go off into thematic language and cinematic language to describe what they were going for, and that makes sense. It is the tools of the trade, and it is how they tell the story.

Not so with actors. Actors have their bodies, their voices, and their capable emotional apparatus.

The truth will always be found in them, and usually on a more simple and more profound level, because they are speaking on the level where the story actually happens.

John Boorman spoke of the location he found, and the “nasty” green light that came through the laurel leaves, and how the location told him how to shoot the scene. This is key information for a movie-lover who loves to understand WHY certain choices were made, who love to pick apart a film and then put it back together with that additional knowledge.

But McKinney, man. McKinney’s words are so deep, and yet so simple, that you understand not only the scene and what this extraordinary actor was going for … but you understand the multiple levels that good actors work on. There he is, saying it in plain view. It is a violent scene, and he is the aggressor. His partner in creating that was Ned Beatty. There had to be total trust between these two actors to create what they did. Not only emotional trust, but physical trust. It is, after all, make-believe. McKinney clearly felt a responsibility towards Ned the actor (“I mustn’t actually hurt him”), and yet he, the character, was fully in the moment of hurting Beatty’s character. This is the magic-trick of good actors, this is the thing that actors say over and over again (“I was in two places at the same time”), and that duality of mind never ceases to fascinate me. Being able to be an actor and a character at the same time. You never TOTALLY lose yourself. On some level, you are still orchestrating the whole thing.

McKinney emerges from the woods like a malignant natural force, and you can see how he zooms in on Beatty as his prey almost immediately. Beatty is nervous and jovial, trying to be a good ol’ boy, and the Mountain Man sees through it. Jon Voight is there, too, but he’s a bit bigger than Beatty and perhaps not as easily dominated. Predators like the Mountain Man sense who is the prey in any given situation, and Beatty walks around like he is prey. When he is in the context of his buddies, that is not as apparent, although he is made fun of by the more alpha members of the group. So even there, his weaknesses are obvious. This is something men understand on a DNA level: who is the biggest dog in the room? I have a couple of guy friends who are big and imposing physically, and while they may be pussy-cats on the inside (and many of them are), they also know that if push comes to shove and something violent went down, they would be called upon to handle it, due to their sheer size. So Burt Reynolds’ character, so imposing, so sexually charismatic, so much an obvious leader, recognizes the weak spots in Beatty’s character and needles him about it.

The Mountain Man does not waste any time. He reaches out and caresses Beatty’s face within 2 exchanges, a truly disturbing moment and one that Beatty plays the SHIT out of, because the character has no way of categorizing that experience. It is completely out of his wheelhouse. It makes no sense.

To a woman, it would make perfect sense. She would know exactly what was happening and what was coming. Beatty, in his interview, made the same point that Reynolds made to Kim: “Women have no problem understanding that scene. They get it immediately.” And watch Beatty’s face as he reacts to the caress. Women know that a gentle caress can be a very violent act. And Beatty’s character feels that violence, he feels it on a gut-check level, and yet he has no experience, ultimately, in classifying the moment. It is so totally “other” that he cannot name the threat, although he feels it.

The Mountain Man escalates the next time he speaks, and reaches out and tweaks Beatty’s nipple. Beatty now understands that something weird is going on, that he is in a whole new landscape, but still, I imagine that being raped is not at all something he fears, not at all something he walks around with the knowledge that “this could happen to me someday”. I read somewhere (and forgive me, I cannot remember where), that every woman on the planet who has not been raped has been in a situation where something goes down, and the thought crosses her mind, “Maybe this will be my rape.” Women who haven’t been raped feel like, “I haven’t been raped … yet.” Outside of prison, this is not a universal male experience, something that men would do well to remember (and the good ones always do). Years ago, I was once walking on a dark sidewalk and it was near my home, so I didn’t feel any threat, I knew where I was and where I was going, and suddenly I heard pounding feet behind me, and my adrenaline spiked through the roof and just as I was about to whirl around and face the threat, I heard a gentle voice say, “Just a jogger, Miss…” and then he passed me by. I called out after him, “Thank you!” It took me a good 20 minutes to calm down, to let the adrenaline fight-or-flight seep out of me, but I appreciated his gentle voice, warning me of his approach from behind. That’s a man who understands that women walk around thinking, “Maybe this will be my rape” and he knew he should warn me of his benign purpose in our brief encounter.

So all of that confusion and shame that is part and parcel of sexual assault goes across Ned Beatty’s awesomely expressive face, and yet it is even more dangerous because he doesn’t understand the threat. Not yet. It is incredible how quickly it all goes down. Within a minute, the rape is under way.

If you are familiar with me and my interests, you will understand that the fact that I have never really asked myself, “Who is that Mountain Man as an actor, and how did he feel about what he was doing in that scene”, is out-of-character and also evidence of how powerful the scene really is.

What a treat to hear the simple, eloquent words of Bill McKinney describing how he approached that scene. And how amazing and evolved that he would say, “I didn’t read that much sex into it.” The thing about sex is, and why sexual assault can so impact a person’s psychology, is that sex is so many things other than sex. It is an associative act. It can express love, it can express desire, it can stave off loneliness, it is a human thing and we all do it. The technical aspect of sex is the LEAST of it, even in moments when you’re basically rutting in a rumpled bed with someone you love (or, hell, don’t love). So rape is not sex, in that respect, although the act is the sex act. This is where it has the most impact. This is where it has a longer shelf-life than other types of assault. And it is so clear in the scene in Deliverance that the act is about power and contempt for the Mountain Man, not about getting his rocks off. It is about destroying the urban interloper who is symbolic of the destruction of their entire region. It is about letting these city slickers know, “This is exactly how much I think of you … this is what you deserve.”

It is the biggest dog in the room lording it over the weakest dog, reminding him who is boss.

It is the ugliest of human emotions, and Bill McKinney embodies it brilliantly.

Jon Voight, in his interview, introduces Bill McKinney, the actor who played the “Mountain Man”:

Bill McKinney was sensational in this part, so intimidating, so deranged. Powerful, physically. Unusual guy. Very good guy. He was a tree surgeon from Los Angeles. An actor, a singer, and a tree surgeon. And somehow they got him for this part.

Ned Beatty said, on filming the scene and working with McKinney:

The scene wasn’t going to be particularly physical the way it was written. But when we came up to start to getting ready to actually doing it, Mr. Boorman said, ‘I just don’t believe it. I don’t believe this guy is gonna drop his laundry and sort of give into this. I want you to run.’ I said, ‘Fine, I’ll run.’ But Bill was great to work with, especially in that regard.

And now, here is what Bill McKinney had to say:

It didn’t bother me that much. It’s all work to me. I am pretty much a contemporary sexual person. But I didn’t read that much sex into it. Interesting thing about it was: even when I was beating him up in the first of it, I chase him up the hill and I’m pulling his underwear and slapping him, I’m thinking all the time about protecting him, too. It’s interesting, thinking back on those things that come to your mind. Although there’s contempt there, I’m still taking care of him. I’m not losing control. And Beatty played it. He allowed himself, as far as I can see, in his own mind and heart, to be violated. It takes a lot of courage. It takes a lot of courage for a man to do that. He’s one hell of an actor.

Well, Mr. McKinney, you seem like a humble man, but I have to say: So are you. So are you.

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19 Responses to The Rape Scene in Deliverance: “I Didn’t Read That Much Sex Into It.”

  1. courtney says:

    What fascinating insight into such a famous (infamous?) scene.

    • sheila says:

      Courtney – It’s one of those scenes that is so upsetting that I actually have never really inquired into the nuts and bolts of it – and I am so glad I did!

  2. Steven_O says:

    Spot on acting commentary. While in an acting class with a great teacher, a student starting talking about symbolism and language. The teacher replied, “That’s for English teachers.” Acting is simple, but very hard.

  3. tracey says:

    Holy crap. Great piece, Sheila. And what a quote from McKinney! “Although there’s contempt there, I’m still taking care of him.” He gets it. He gets the tightrope. Brilliant.

    I’ve seen Deliverance only once and I never thought I’d say this but just that quote alone makes me want to see it again.

    Also: Your story about the jogger made me tear up. “Just a jogger, Miss.” So much respect and compassion in so few words. (The “Miss” kills me.) God bless that jogger, wherever he is now!!

    • sheila says:

      Tracey – Isn’t it just amazing stuff? Bill McKinney having that dual awareness – which you NEVER pick up on in the scene because he is just so frightening. And it’s also amazing how – let me phrase this right – the scene is obviously very violent. But it’s not like he punches Ned Beatty or smashes his head against a tree to comply. Ned Beatty, after running up a hill, pretty much succumbs rather quickly. This is what the Mountain Man sensed in him: a submissive nature, someone who will “give”.

      And yes, I love that jogger. He understands life, he understands what it means to be part of a community. Just gotta give her a heads up who I am and what I’m doing – I’ll probably freak her out …. Good man!

  4. mutecypher says:

    I was living in an apartment complex. I had just pulled into the parking lot after a kung fu class and I was still in my gi. A pelting rain started so I ran toward my apartment, on a path between two of the buildings. There was a woman hurrying towards her apartment ahead of me and I was going to run around her. She heard me coming, and turned. I assume the fear of assault was intensified by my unusual attire. She stepped right in front of where I was planning to pass, and screamed. I swerved off the path and twisted my ankle avoiding her.

    Perhaps if I had had that gentleman’s foresight she wouldn’t have been startled and I wouldn’t have spent two weeks on crutches.

    • sheila says:

      Mutecypher – Oh no!!!

      I’m imagining what she felt – seeing a Kung Fu Master apparently charging at her in the rain! Sorry about your ankle, though!

      • mutecypher says:

        Yeah, I’ve aged enough to realize that my pure heart doesn’t shine brightly for all to see. I no longer trust that my good intentions are magically communicated – I gotta do that explicitly.

        Plus, sometimes I am a jerk. There is that.

  5. Todd Restler says:

    “And Beatty played it. He allowed himself, as far as I can see, in his own mind and heart, to be violated. It takes a lot of courage. It takes a lot of courage for a man to do that. He’s one hell of an actor. ”

    Great insights Sheila. I think what Beatty did in that scene was one of the more courageous things an actor has ever done. What is even more remarkable was that this was his FIRST film role. He was 33 years old, a struggling musician trying out acting, and THIS was his first gig. Took a TON of guts. And, as you say, he acted the shit out of it.

    I remember an interview Burt Reynolds did sometime in the 90s on one of the late night talk shows, and he was asked about this scene. He said that Beatty had reservations (putting it mildly) about doing this, that he felt it would be so repulsive and off putting that it would essentially make anything else he did in his career irrelevent. Burt reassured him that he was a young man with a bright future in movies and that years later nobody would remember the scene. “Turns out I was wrong”, said Burt. Years later, Burt said, (and probably to this day), he can’t walk down the street without someone yelling “squeal like a pig”. That has to be tough, no matter how thick his skin. Not quite like somebody yelling “show me the money” to Cuba Gooding, for example. Beatty sensed even before filming that this would somehow brand him for life, but he did it anyway, with total commitment. He deserves unlimited respect for that.

    I doubt this could be made today. People freak out. I remember the uproar over the scene in which Matt Dillon violates Thandie Newton in Crash, people were in a tizzy over “how she was treated”, as if Dillon ACTUALLY did what he was “acting”. The Deliverence rape makes that look like an afterschool special.

    And it’s weird but I never thought about the scene from Bill McKinney’s point of view. He’s so authentic I just assumed they found some actual “mountain man” or something. I pictured him being led to the set like a dog on a leash. He’s so real, it is somewhat of a surprise to learn he was “acting”, with thoughts towards Beatty’s safety.

    Great stuff on an immortal movie.

  6. Solid Muldoon says:

    What a great article about a great scene.

    I’m an actor, and a big, mean-looking guy. I have had to brutalize and kill people many, many times on stage. I can totally relate to what McKinney says about the split of having to play the scene while wanting to protect the actor you are working with.

    I was never more afraid of playing a scene than when I had to grab an 8-year-old boy and hold him up to my face with murder in my eyes. (The actual killing took place off stage.) Fortunately, the boy had been fascinated by watching all of the sword fight rehearsals and the whole concept of “fake fighting.” We had spent a lot of time talking about it and had built a trust.

    But I was still scared to death.

    That boy later grew up to be a serial killer. Kidding!

  7. Pingback: Gender Roles and Expectations in Rape | HONR 100C: Sexuality in Southern Literature

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  9. Chris says:

    Great piece on a fascinating scene! I am not an actor, except for helping out at my church occasionally, but I am a HUGE movie fan. I remember what first turned me onto that “tightrope” as it was so well put between the character of the scene and the person playing the role. Oddly, it was in a Jackie Chan film. (Rumble in the Bronx, I think.) Now, I realize that this has nowhere near the gravitas that Deliverance carries, but it still left an impression. It is actually in one of the outtakes.

    In the original scene, a gang of thugs are trying to catch Jackie’s character and he’s doing all of the wonderful things that Chan does to get away from them. (Later they catch him and the abuse they deliver is pretty brutal, even in a Chan flick.) In the outtake of that scene, Jackie’s running full speed and misses a jump through a little wooden frame, actually breaks the frame with his leg – if memory serves – and takes a fairly violent and nasty spill. The thugs chasing him continue running just as hard, but when they get to Jackie they immediately start tending to him, their genuine concern obvious. They’re checking on him, removing the debris, seeing if he’s okay, and helping him up.

    It’s funny because their faces don’t change one iota from before Chan falls to when they realize he falls. There are the same looks of effort and concentration. What I noticed, was that they were running just as hard to help their friend and fellow actor as they would if they were actually chasing someone to harm them. I must have watched that stupid little outtake 10 times, completely mesmerized by how quickly they went from villain to friend.

    Anyway, good stuff on a disturbing scene from one heck of a movie. I always enjoy understanding better more of what goes into a good actor’s performance. Thanks again and God bless!

    • sheila says:

      Chris – you may not be an actor but you have a wonderfully observant eye. You really picked up on the nuances of the work-slash-art conundrum that can be so difficult to explain. You make me want to see that outtake!

      Thank you so much for reading and for also sharing your beautiful and detailed observation. It really helped on this sad day (Roger Ebert died). Many thanks to you.

  10. Erin says:

    Very well written commentary. I suggest looking up a quote attributed to Burt Reynolds on his IMDB page. It’s a rather extensive quote on that scene, and it might add some a new dimension to an understanding of that scene.

  11. Bruce says:

    Acting ? Really ??? Google Burt Reynolds – Quotes – IMDb and read the 4th and 5th paragraphs. I could make comments,but I’d rather you look it up yourself,and make your own conclusion.

  12. sheila says:

    I already make my own conclusions. I’m a writer. Kind of what I do.

  13. Barb says:

    Great piece, and I really enjoyed the link to Sunset Gun, too! Since I can’t really divorce myself from my experiences watching movies, I have to add that, while I have seen “Deliverance,” I have never seen that scene. Not in its entirety, anyway. I watched it when I was about 13 or 14 in an edited for tv version with my mom. I vividly remember the beginning of the scene, but then all of a sudden there was a cutaway, and people were running through the forest. I asked my mom, “What happened? What did he do?” She just said something vague like, “they were attacked.” Took me a couple of years to really figure out what that meant! (No video on demand back then.) Maybe I need to go back now, as an adult, and really see the movie.

    Come to think of it, I saw a lot of movies that way, edited for tv, that I was probably too young for. A lot of great 70’s movies–The Parallax View, The Man Who Would Be King, Chinatown–Perhaps my folks felt that the edited versions were somehow “safe”? It’s an interesting question, though, isn’t it–the issue of when a person has developed a frame of reference that can allow them to really take in a movie or any piece of art. I struggle with that now as a parent–but of course, the lines are more thickly drawn these days.

    McKinney’s quote is fascinating to me, too. Forgive the SPN bleed through, but it reminded me of something Ackles has said repeatedly when asked about the confession scene in season 4. He apparently had trouble shaking off the emotions that the scene brought up, at one point having to walk off down the road because he could not stop the tears. But what he says about it now is as simple as what you talk about in this piece. “Your brain knows it’s not real, but your body doesn’t, and it reacts as though what your character is going through is real.” (That’s a bungled quote, but you get the jist.) From the description, it sounds as though the Deliverance scene struck a similar balance for the actors.

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