**Duel** is **Steven Spielberg**'s debut film about emasculation in modern society, a man trapped in an unfulfilling role as a head of the household.

**Dennis Weaver** plays the lone major character, David Mann. On a random early weekend morning, he pulls out his Plymouth Valiant from suburban LA home, trying to close a sale that requires a lengthy drive to client's home. His seemingly routine road trip is his brief escape from having to deal with life until he overtakes a slow moving Peterbilt oil tanker. From then on, the truck tries to consume him, both literally and psychologically. The film begins to resemble the rainy drive from **Alfred Hitchcock**'s **Psycho**, but fully exposed in daylight without the cover of rainstorm.

[spoiler]At first, he tries to get away, speeding away as much as his Valiant and driving skill are capable of. But the truck somehow catches up to him (he later utters "How can he go so fast?"). He then tries to avoid the truck, driving slower and taking a long nap. But the truck is waiting for him.[/spoiler] Like life itself, the only way out is to confront it, win or lose.

It's hard to imagine that **Steven Spielberg** was only 25 when the film was released. This low budget made-for-TV movie is extremely well crafted and makes the most out of its slim budget, a feat that was duplicated by his peer on the same year, **George Lucas**'s **THX-1138** (**THX-1138** was produced with $777,777 budget against **Duel**'s $450,000).

**Duel** is an epitome of minimalism -- tight story telling backed by perfectly framed visuals. **Dennis Weaver** expertly shifts his emotion with precision, ranging from fear, frustration, to anger.

If I were to criticize the film, it is that some aspects are a bit too clichéd, especially David's detached relationship with his family. This is a prototypical of **Steven Spielberg**'s earlier films, perhaps most egregious on **Close Encounters of the Third Kind**.

The film ends [spoiler]with David sitting on a cliff briefly enjoying his victory, but mostly reflecting and contemplating his future. If his victory feels hollow, it's because life isn't about winning. Life requires understanding who you are, overcoming and/or embracing obstacles. I would like to think that David, after figuring out how to get back home, embraces his life as a family man with renewed confidence to take on obstacles.[/spoiler]