“I died for you, doc — why shouldn’t you return the favor?”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“I can’t get away from it — it keeps haunting me.”
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Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Being afraid is necessary to believing.”
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On its own merits, Jack’s Wife remains an intriguing artifact of its era, creatively directed by Romero — albeit within a super-low budget, and at a time when Romero professes he was still just learning basics of directing — and consistently going in unexpected directions. Though it’s not a horror film per se, we can sense the “horror” of White’s situation as she’s surrounded by near-harpies (her circle of friends aren’t exactly appealing):
… ignored (and occasionally beaten) by her oft-travelling husband:
… patronized by her pipe-smoking analyst:
… pitied by her self-absorbed daughter:
… and chastised as insufficiently “hip” by her daughter’s lover:
Meanwhile, Romero injects numerous frightful nightmare sequences, which lend the film an appropriate air of mystery and trauma throughout:
— and the final scene is most definitely a shocker. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“It’s showtime!”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“It’s that car — I swear, it’s the car.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Redeeming Qualities and Moments: Must See? Links: |
“I’ve come for the photographs.”
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… so “it will take something drastic to knock him out of his complacency and make him distinguish between what is real and illusionary, what is trivial and important.”
After giving away numerous spoilers in his review (don’t read anything about this film if you’ve never seen it and want to remain surprised), Peary writes that “Antonioni’s point is that the introduction of a camera always distorts reality; also, since each person has singular sensibilities, no individual is capable of seeing Truth (a second person would have a different perspective on the same image).” Peary argues that this “once vital film is dated and its flimsiness and pretentiousness are more evident today” — indeed, this is precisely how I now view the film many years after first being impressed and deeply intrigued by it as a younger film fanatic. However, Peary asserts it should (still) be watched “as a document of its time, to see the fancy camera work that turned us on, the nudity that had us blushing:
… the Yardbirds performing in front of catatonic youths:
… the mod clothes:
… and Hemmings tossing the invisible tennis ball to the mimes — an image that, for some reason, remains one of the most indelible in cinema history.”
Peary adds that “Antonioni’s picture altered the style of cinema and enlarged its audience — [and] for that we can always think of it fondly.” Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Categories
(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“You’re just not the girl I thought you were.”
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Coolidge seems primarily interested in inverting gender norms by allowing Harrington to unabashedly explore her own goals and interests — including requesting two avid pursuers (Peter Riegert and James Carrington) as sexual partners after a party. (This scene of an attempted but awkwardly thwarted threesome is humorously handled.) The through-line of the film’s narrative ostensibly involves Harrington’s attempt to learn more about a charismatic man seducing young women into his cult, but this thread is insufficiently explored until it reappears for convenient purposes at the end (and it’s disturbing that the villainous target of her inquiry is one of the few Black characters in the mostly White film). Film fanatics who have been faithfully working their way through all the titles in Peary’s book will likely recognize beautiful Harrington from her previous indie film, The Dark End of the Street (1981) — and she has an appealing screen presence:
… but she’s not enough to recommend this as a title worth seeking out. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“Will we ever see Elvis in person again?”
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… alongside ample authentic footage from the earliest days of Presley’s stupendous fame:
… to his final challenging weeks. Indeed, it’s the candor of this latter footage that makes one sit up and notice: despite being overseen by his estate, this documentary pulls few punches in letting us know how sick Presley became towards the end of his life, showing heartbreaking evidence of his eventual inability to cope.
Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
Must See? Categories
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“That body is here somewhere!”
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Peary’s review reveals numerous spoilers that I won’t name here — but suffice it to say that I don’t believe the film capitalizes on its potential, though not all agree, and many take great pleasure in recognizing even more cinematic homages. While it’s worth a look for its highly creative elements, it’s not must-see viewing. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“You know how girls love to scream.”
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While I’m not at all a fan of slasher flicks, I think Peary is missing the boat a bit: viewers of this type of movie don’t tend to spend much energy worrying about logic or characters’ intelligence (and Brown originally wrote it as a parody, which makes sense). Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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