Overview
A gripping investigation unfolds as a detective delves into the dark underbelly of New York City.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- brooding
- paranoid
- intimate
- late night noir viewing
- serious film discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly agree that the intelligent screenplay, Jane Fonda’s forceful performance, and the stars’ repartee make the psychologically charged thriller compelling despite reservations about its unconventional direction and drawn-out conclusion.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Bree is tormented by anonymous calls and recordings while Klute investigates a disappearance through the city’s private networks.
Bree’s call-girl work is presented as both compulsion and economic necessity, without reducing her to a redemptive stereotype.
Gordon Willis’s compositions use darkness, obstructed sightlines, and claustrophobic interiors to externalize danger around Bree.
Klute and Bree repeatedly test, resist, and unsettle each other before developing an emotionally dependent relationship.
Films like Klute, and why
The Conversation
shared neo-noir atmosphere, morally complex characters, urban paranoia, and psychologically tense investigation
The Long Goodbye
shared New Hollywood crime storytelling, obsessive surveillance, sexual politics, and a troubled central investigator
Chinatown
shared dark urban mystery, endangered women, institutional corruption, and brooding neo-noir tension
Mona Lisa
shared psychologically intimate crime drama, erotic unease, and a damaged protagonist confronting violence
Movie Details
- Director
- Alan J. Pakula
- Release Date
- 1971-06-23
- Runtime
- 114 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (541)
Cast
- Jane Fonda
- Donald Sutherland
- Charles Cioffi
- Roy Scheider
- Dorothy Tristan
- Rita Gam
- Vivian Nathan
- Nathan George
- Morris Strassberg
- Barry Snider
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Klute about?
- A guarded private detective and a fiercely self-protective Manhattan call girl become entangled in a disappearance case shadowed by surveillance and violence.
- What is Klute like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Klute as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Klute violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Klute as moderate.
- What did critics think of Klute?
- Critics broadly agree that the intelligent screenplay, Jane Fonda’s forceful performance, and the stars’ repartee make the psychologically charged thriller compelling despite reservations about its unconventional direction and drawn-out conclusion.
- Which films are like Klute?
- Films with a similar feel include The Conversation, The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, and Mona Lisa.
- How long is Klute?
- Klute runs 114 minutes.
- Where can I watch Klute?
- In United States, Klute is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
