{"id":78907,"date":"2021-12-21T02:05:02","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T09:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=78907"},"modified":"2022-01-21T11:49:48","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T18:49:48","slug":"desperate-characters-1971","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=78907","title":{"rendered":"Desperate Characters (1971)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I think I&#8217;ve got rabies.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Poster-202x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-78908\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Poster-202x300.png 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Poster-688x1024.png 688w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Poster-86x128.png 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Poster-181x270.png 181w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Poster.png 741w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a bored housewife (Shirley MacLaine) in New York City is bit by a stray cat, her lawyer-husband (Kenneth Mars) insists she have her hand looked at by a doctor; meanwhile, Sophie (MacLaine) reflects back on a former affair and socializes with various friends &#8212; including her husband&#8217;s soon-to-be ex-partner (Gerald S. O&#8217;Loughlin) and a former-activist friend (Sada Thompson) who is visited frequently by her ex-boyfriend (Jack Somack).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Housewives<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Shirley MacLaine Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPlaywright Frank D. Gilroy&#8217;s directorial debut was this adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Desperate_Characters_(novel)\">a novel by Paula Fox<\/a> about an upper-middle-class childless wife seeking meaning and connection of some kind. Despite MacLaine&#8217;s decent performance, it&#8217;s excruciatingly challenging to care much about her character&#8217;s overall malaise; in an interview, Fox herself complained that the film &#8220;lacked a certain kind of inner gravity&#8221;. Sophie&#8217;s life is at least beautifully shot, as we see her lounging around in her apartment: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Thinking-About-Marriage.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Thinking-About-Marriage.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-78913\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Thinking-About-Marriage.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Thinking-About-Marriage-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Thinking-About-Marriage-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Thinking-About-Marriage-486x270.png 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; wandering the city in the wee hours of the morning with O&#8217;Loughlin: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Gampel.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Gampel.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-78914\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Gampel.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Gampel-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Gampel-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Gampel-486x270.png 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and having lunch in the cavernous apartment of her very-odd friends. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Apartment.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Apartment.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-78917\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Apartment.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Apartment-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Apartment-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Apartment-486x270.png 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Eventually she and Mars end up at their summer house, where they encounter an unpleasant surprise:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Broken-Window.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Broken-Window.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-78919\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Broken-Window.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Broken-Window-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Broken-Window-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Broken-Window-486x270.png 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but again, it&#8217;s hard to feel too sorry for this privileged if clearly troubled couple. If the point is that money can&#8217;t buy happiness, point taken &#8212; but it&#8217;s been made elsewhere many times, to more lasting effect. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> It was interesting reading <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2571desp.html\">DVD Savant&#8217;s review<\/a> of this film, in which he refers to it as &#8220;a real downer, an intelligent but unrewarding slice of despair&#8221; that is &#8220;a theater owner&#8217;s worst nightmare, a picture that inspires mass walkouts.&#8221; He notes that it &#8220;must be the antithesis of a Date Flick,&#8221; as he &#8220;can&#8217;t imagine a marginal relationship surviving the experience of a trip to this picture.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Urs Furrer&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Window.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Window.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-78909\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Window.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Window-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Window-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Window-486x270.png 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-78918\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Cinematography2-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Cinematography2-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Desperate-Characters-Cinematography2-486x270.png 486w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNope. Listed as a Sleeper and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0066986\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2571desp.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I think I&#8217;ve got rabies.&#8221; Synopsis: When a bored housewife (Shirley MacLaine) in New York City is bit by a stray cat, her lawyer-husband (Kenneth Mars) insists she have her hand looked at by a doctor; meanwhile, Sophie (MacLaine) reflects back on a former affair and socializes with various friends &#8212; including her husband&#8217;s soon-to-be ex-partner (Gerald S. O&#8217;Loughlin) and a former-activist friend (Sada Thompson) who is visited frequently by her ex-boyfriend (Jack Somack). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Housewives&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=78907\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78907"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80484,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78907\/revisions\/80484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}