This is one of the very earliest of Robert Altman's films, in fact it was his third and it's a far cry from the large ensemble films he made later in his career, like Pret a Porter and The Player.
The film centers around a rich, single woman who spots a young man sitting in the rain in the park across from her apartment and invites him in to bath and get warm. She invites him to stay, feeding him, clothing him, giving him a room and gradually building a attraction toward him. The young man remains mute throughout their interactions, except we discover that not only can he talk, he has a home and family, but while he sneaks out to see them, he returns to the house.
Eventually she asks him to sleep with her one night as she lays on his bed, only to discover he has snuck out again and she goes crazy. Nailing up the windows and doors, finally making him a complete prisoner at which point he reveals he can talk. She then goes and hires a prostitute for him which makes her insanely jealous which in turn has dire consequence.
The copy of the film I watched was very old and worn, which of course subtracted from the viewing experience, but the story is an intriguing one. She is such a quiet and passive character, that she barely seems predatory but just lonely and in some ways her actions do come across as good deeds. Sandy Dennis is superb in the role of this calm seemingly sane woman, who's actions become more desperate. The film however suffers because it feels stagnant during the middle part, where nothing really happens and then you have this sudden change of character which even then felt very subtle. It would be interesting to see how this story would be made today.
More of my review at iheartfilms.weebly.com
The film centers around a rich, single woman who spots a young man sitting in the rain in the park across from her apartment and invites him in to bath and get warm. She invites him to stay, feeding him, clothing him, giving him a room and gradually building a attraction toward him. The young man remains mute throughout their interactions, except we discover that not only can he talk, he has a home and family, but while he sneaks out to see them, he returns to the house.
Eventually she asks him to sleep with her one night as she lays on his bed, only to discover he has snuck out again and she goes crazy. Nailing up the windows and doors, finally making him a complete prisoner at which point he reveals he can talk. She then goes and hires a prostitute for him which makes her insanely jealous which in turn has dire consequence.
The copy of the film I watched was very old and worn, which of course subtracted from the viewing experience, but the story is an intriguing one. She is such a quiet and passive character, that she barely seems predatory but just lonely and in some ways her actions do come across as good deeds. Sandy Dennis is superb in the role of this calm seemingly sane woman, who's actions become more desperate. The film however suffers because it feels stagnant during the middle part, where nothing really happens and then you have this sudden change of character which even then felt very subtle. It would be interesting to see how this story would be made today.
More of my review at iheartfilms.weebly.com