Few directors have succeeded in creating a truly personal cinematic poetry of their own. Most simply do not strive towards artistic endeavors of this type. Gus Van Sant was one of few of his generation with the ability, talent and desire. Having realised this vision early on in his career with "My Own Private Idaho" he abandoned this quest, opting for mainstream acceptance, not to mention commercial success.<br /><br />"Two Lane Blacktop", Monte Hellmans' elegiac ode to existential despair is set in the milieu of drag car racing. The mood and images transmit the inner essence of the characters rather than what they willingly reveal of themselves. The potency lies in what is not spoken and what is not shown. Hitchcock commented on how true horror is created not by showing the audience fearful images, but rather by us induced to forming such images in our own minds. Hellman chooses not to depict despair a la Bergmann with endless articulate monologues plumbing emotional depths. The Driver (Taylor) and The Mechanic (Wilson) barely speak, and when they do you can be sure it's about car engines. G.T.O. (Oates) has much to say, but he's articulating the delusions which keep his despair at bay. The one time he begins to reveal the truth of life story, Taylor cuts him short. Soul searching has no place in "Two Lane Blacktop", it would be breaking the silent agreement that what counts are cars and racing. Taylor's brief proposal to Laurie Bird of finding peace in Florida is touchingly poignant. For all her hippiness, she has an acute sense of her own survival, effortlessly transferring her affections to the most promising man of the moment, ultimately leaving with a biker on the basis of a mere glance in a diner.<br /><br />The fact that both James Taylor and Dennis Wilson in the leads are not actors somehow has no detrimental effect at all. They are not called on to act as such and their dialogue is sparse. Taylor in particular has an effective blend of tenderness with a touch of crazed obsession about him. Warren Oates, the only real actor and a Hellman favorite turns in a powerful performance.<br /><br />"Two Lane Blacktop" makes for a companion piece with Frank Perry's "Play It As It Lays", made around the same time. Both essay existential despair and both are cinematic rarities that should not be missed.