dnseaman Reviews

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2008)

How did this get missed?

[10/10 · 1 March 2013]

From the very start of this film there is an underlying tension. Between the script (And who can write better than Tennesee Williams in this genre) the editing, score and direction, we have the feeling that Fisher is bringing a nasty storm our way. She may not mean to, but she is a selfish and spoiled girl. She meets and falls in love with Jimmy, a working class young man with a deep loyalty to his father, an alcoholic who survived the Spanish American War and his mother, who has been locked up in an asylum.

Jimmy's mix with the rich and disloyal world of Fisher brings about a series of events and though they were foreshadowed, we never knew exactly what was coming.

the film is filled with terrific performances but none compare to that of Chris Evans, who plays Jimmy. From his authentic Tennnsee accent and the way he handles a filter less cigarette (not bad for a Boston boy) to the things he is able to say with his eyes. He fights his way through the film for what is right; for the dignity of his parents and every word he speaks is free of any sort of "acting techniques". When he stands in the rain and cries, we are barely able to keep from crying as well.

This film will be a classic and should have caught the eyes of the Golden Globes, the Accademy and Cannes. The fact that Tenesee Williams didn't win best original screenplay (he was not even nominated) nor Chris Evans win best actor is a travesty. But Hollywood prefers Chris pumnped up and suited as Captain America. This film (along with London) is proof that this young man is the next generation of brilliance.

A Case of Rape (1974 TV Movie)

"A Case Of Rape" (1974) was a pioneer for film, reality and women's rights

[10/10 · 7 April 2012]

Elizabeth Montgomery's clout and talent is unquestionably what got this film made for TV in the early 1970's. Up until this point, rape was a taboo subject and to see a studio invest so much money and risk so many affiliates for what would ultimately become a legend in Made-for-TV-films is refreshing and brave.

The story is about Ellen Harrod a married woman with two children who is raped twice by the same man. She takes herself to the hospital and we see her go through the steps of a routine medical exam to a routine legal proceeding. Harrod is treated worse by culture and society than she was by the rapist.

Montgomery's performance is remarkable; not just the horrific scenes, which are done very carefully for a 1974 television audience, but the scenes that follow; the many showers, the slight grimace of her eye muscles on the medical exam table as the camera stays with her eyes and not with the pelvic exam, the manner in which Montgomery's performance begins to display a wearing down of strength as well as soul and resilience as the film proceeds (this film was NOT made in scene order- most films are not- so that for consistency Montogomery had to know this script very well.) The subject of rape itself remains "untouchable" within the cinema. Jodie Foster's remarkable, Oscar Winning performance in "The Accused" in 1984 was the next that we saw such a powerful performance (that was the year that everyone was shocked that "little Jodie Foster" had beaten Meryl Streep for an Oscar; this would happen again in 1992 for "Silence of The Lambs").

The film "Sleepers" deals peripherally with the issue of male rape, but this is a film about vengeance and doesn;t do much to teach the frequency and situation of boys who are raped. Statistically, one out of four girls and one out of six boys will be sexually abused by the time they reach age eighteen. This is one out of five children. Hold out your hand, randomly select a finger and cut it off. It doesn't matter which finger; the choice should be as random as a child. Rape is a serious crime and has been seen as a female crime (It was only in January of 2012 that President Obama changed the law to include men as potential victims) for centuries. Subsequently it was only the women's rights movement that brought about awareness.

Elizabeth Montgomery left "Bewitched", a sickening housefrau who should have turned Darrin into a ashtray, and went on to create television movies that represented women in a much different light. Lizzie Bortden, Etta Place, many roles that are typically male leads and as such she should be credited right along with Mary Tyler Moore as a pioneer in the Wokmen's Movement using television for her voice. Jodie Foster has achieved the same through the motion picture industry which is about twenty years behind with films such as "Silence of The Lambs", "The Brave One" and, again, "The Acused." A Case of Rape is impossible to find on DVD which is a pity since historically it's of great importance. More so than that, it;s a film that teaches a great deal about the horrors of this crime and the horrors of how our culture deals with it. There is not much difference statistically in 2012 than there was in 1974. in fact, I seriously doubt that one of the Networks would ever make this film today. For those of us who were there and saw it, we are still affected by it, for those who cannot see it, there are still ways to learn about it; certainly Ms Foster's Award winning performance (based on a real case in- of all places- Fall River, Massachusetts) But none the less, this lesson has to be taught. Rape is a serial crime, it is about violence and control and not about sexual gratification and far too many citizens of the world suffer this crime in silence.

As for the ending to this film, I shall not spoil it because my voice is one of thousands who continuously ask that this film be released. And when it does, I don;t wish to be the critic who spoiled the end for you.