Beryl Reid gives the performance of a lifetime in this film about lesbian roommates, one of which is an actress. The main plot revolves around the possibility of Beryl Reid's character on a TV show being written off (the show.) Her relationship with roommate Susannah York is very interesting. But, suffice it to say, Beryl is very dominating, possessive, and demanding. She wants to know where she's been all the time and likes to throw her weight around. At middle age and with extra weight, she is no longer the beauty she once was, and, as someone points out to her late in the film, she is not the ideal desired sex object for young women. To describe this film with mere words really doesn't do the film justice. Granted Beryl's performance is the whole show. But the movie is an experience you're not likely to forget, especially with a love scene between two ladies near the end of it. Coral Browne is quite good and memorable in her role as well. But "The Killing of Sister George" belongs to Beryl Reid and this film's hard-to-find status is only hurting people's chances at seeing Ms. Reid at her best.
Review of The Killing of Sister George
