A fascinating, confronting movie, genuinely different, that remains largely unknown, despite the fact the lead role is played by Carroll Baker. It was directed by her husband, Jack Garfein, an Actors Studio alumni who had previously made his debut with The Strange One; this was his second and, to date, last feature.
Baker plays a young student who is raped one night while walking home, but decides not to report it. She drifts aimlessly through her days, gets a new job and place to live, struggles to connect.... this section of the movie is very powerful, mostly without dialogue, aided by some superb photography, location shooting in New York, and Aron Copland's score.
The second half kicks off when Baker tries to kill herself and is rescued by Ralph Meeker - who then sets about taking her home and locking her up at his place. It's a flip of the kind we later saw in Pulp Fiction: the movie shifts to a psychological study with Meeker tormenting Baker, Baker fighting back but eventually developing Helsinki syndrome and being unable to leave him. That's the sort of ending that will upset a lot of people - if you consider the film endorsing Baker's actions, which I don't think it does. I would say though that the second half is less effective than the first, in part because there is so much "acting" going on between Baker and Meeker, and the actions of the characters become increasingly bewildering (which was probably the point but does tend to distance them from the viewer).
It's a superb showcase for Baker, who is excellent, and looks terrific. There's really no other movie quite like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment