My comments on Peary’s reviews in Guide for the Film Fanatic (Simon & Schuster, 1986).
“Jesse’s gone, that’s true, and maybe Frank’s gone too — and then again, maybe he ain’t. The boy’s always had a mighty peculiar way of turning up just when you least expect him.”
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“The whole place seemed to me like a deep hole, and the people down in it were strange animals — snakes! And I’d been thrown into it, as though I were a snake, too.
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is the primary reason to watch this sincere yet dated adaptation of Mary Jane Ward’s bestselling, semi-autobiographical novel. In the wake of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), nothing in The Snake Pit comes across as particularly shocking, but audiences at the time must have been horrified by its depiction of inhumane overcrowding (the didactic script makes sure we’re aware of the impossibly mounting number of inmates):
… seemingly abusive treatment methods (including shock therapy):
… and power-playing nurses (Helen Craig’s evil Nurse Davis is an eerie precursor to Nurse Ratched).
Leo Genn’s saintly “Dr. Kik” conveniently mitigates much of this impersonal horror, emerging as Virginia’s literal savior:
While his Freudian analysis of Virginia’s childhood is ridiculously simplistic:
… it’s hard not to feel for de Havilland’s highly sympathetic protagonist, and wish her well. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
“It gives you a sort of superior feeling — it’s as if you were in the know, and they were on the outside, looking in…”
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“One must replace vague ideas with clear images.”
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“He’s meddled in things men should leave alone.”
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“His day of reckoning must come. He is tormented by fear that someday he will make one false move, one slip that will betray him, and when he does, the lightning of justice will strike… the unsuspected.”
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“Earth, you were once soaked in Siegfried’s blood. One day I shall come and drench you with the blood of Hagen Tronje!”
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“Young Siegfried understood the bird’s song: If the dragon slayer would bathe in the dragon’s blood, his body would become invincible, forever safe against word and spear.”
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Response to Peary’s Review: Although Siegfried is ostensibly about its titular hero, it’s interesting to note that strong females play an important part in both this film and its sequel (Kriemhild’s Revenge). Brunhild is a no-holds-barred warrior woman who surrounds herself with a bevy of female associates; and while Peary notes that she “harbors a secret love for Siegfried” (a fact which is apparently borne out in the original story), it’s not made explicit here. Instead, Brunhild comes across as simply a powerful female who resents being forced to marry and give up her independence; significantly, it’s her actions and motivations which propel the tragic final half of the film. It should also be noted how androgynous the leads appear: Margarete Schon and Hanna Ralph are positively transgendered, while Siegfried — with his wildly poofed-out hair and dramatic make-up — makes for a somewhat “feminine” counterpart. Ultimately, then, Siegfried remains a mythic tale of larger-than-life beings who transcend traditional gender roles, instead embodying core human emotions and values. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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“We didn’t need dialogue. We had faces!”
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“How much courage does it take to walk out on your kid?”
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Response to Peary’s Review: To her credit, Streep (who won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar) manages to convince us that her heinous abandonment of Billy was an act of desperation rather than rationality. Even more impressive, however, is Hoffman, who deservedly won an Oscar as best actor of the year — he apparently invested an enormous amount of time and energy into his role, essentially co-writing the script with director Robert Benton, and using improvisation whenever possible. The rapport he develops with Henry (an excellent child actor) is wonderfully natural; I love how there’s never a musical montage depicting their life together as “single males”. Instead — in one of the film’s best sequences — Benton shows us Billy silently setting out plates and doughnuts for breakfast while he and his dad read their respective “papers”.
This type of carefully rendered authenticity permeates the entire narrative, which is often heartbreaking — and occasionally melodramatic — but always, fortunately, real. Redeeming Qualities and Moments:
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(Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) Links: |
