I'm not referring to the sight of awol World War II soldier Brian Deacon in drag, but the characterization of Army officer Oliver Reed who not only ogles Deacon but makes sickening physical and verbal gestures in his efforts to get Deacon (whom he assumes to be a woman) to go out with him. Every gesture he makes reveals a vile and coarse man, and the threat of Deacon being exposed for his disguise brings on the fear of violence from the obviously unbalanced character that Reed plays. On the other side of the spectrum is Glenda Jackson as the farm woman whose husband is being held inside a Japanese prison camp, having helped hide Deacon and ending up in an affair with him. She's naturally protective of Deacon, both for her feelings for him, but his disguised female identity as well, threatening to kill Reed until Deacon all of a sudden announces that he/she is going out with Reed regardless of whether Jackson likes it or not.
One of those weird, artsy dramas that obviously didn't create much of a stir, in spite of the fact that Jackson was hot stuff at the time, having appeared with Reed in "Women in Love", winning an Oscar for it. Certainly, it's not a stretch of the imagination that a soldier would attempt such a disguise, and Deacon dressed as Jill is certainly a lovely facade. But the film just gets really odd once Reed pops up on the scene, his character just too reprehensible to even enjoy hating. The rural setting adds to the believability of Jackson's loneliness, and she's terrific as always, absolutely mesmerizing. The direction by Michael Apted also aides in giving this an ugly, depressing viewpoint with an ending that obviously had the audience walking out without a soud. I saw this in my early 20's, found it depressing and bizarre then, and the past three decades haven't altered that. There isn't so much a conclusion as there is an ending that doesn't make the film seem complete, the result of an indecisive script and the fact that the writers didn't seem to care about the audience.
One of those weird, artsy dramas that obviously didn't create much of a stir, in spite of the fact that Jackson was hot stuff at the time, having appeared with Reed in "Women in Love", winning an Oscar for it. Certainly, it's not a stretch of the imagination that a soldier would attempt such a disguise, and Deacon dressed as Jill is certainly a lovely facade. But the film just gets really odd once Reed pops up on the scene, his character just too reprehensible to even enjoy hating. The rural setting adds to the believability of Jackson's loneliness, and she's terrific as always, absolutely mesmerizing. The direction by Michael Apted also aides in giving this an ugly, depressing viewpoint with an ending that obviously had the audience walking out without a soud. I saw this in my early 20's, found it depressing and bizarre then, and the past three decades haven't altered that. There isn't so much a conclusion as there is an ending that doesn't make the film seem complete, the result of an indecisive script and the fact that the writers didn't seem to care about the audience.