John Klute is a small-town policeman who arrives in NYC to solve a missing person case. His only lead is Bree Daniels, a neurotic escort. Alan J. Pakula transforms the detective genre into something completely different – a somewhat romantic drama about the developing relationship between two strangers, marginal people in the big city. Such a feat is intricate, certainly within the established patterns, and Pakula builds the entire film on the presence and talent of his stars: Fonda and Sutherland, who bring opposite strengths to the screen. The result, as in his other works (All the President's Men, Sophie's Choice, and others), is a restrained and affective drama.