Saturday, July 12, 2008
BLUE BALLS
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was Elia Kazan's
or is it the William Inge film directed by Elia Kazan? Auteur, auteur!
Whichever, a powerful collaboration.
Sexual repression, neurotic fixations and the stock market crash all come together to frustrate Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood from having sex.
Well, they have sex eventually. Just not with each other.
I know that this sounds absurd but it is not that way on the screen and it was very shocking in its time.
I did not see it the first time around. I don't know why.
Warren Beatty is in his first film and is great to watch. Wood is OK. Restrained.
The show stopper here is Pat Hingle who made a specialty of playing Inge characters to the hilt. He does not mind letting it roar. Very enjoyable to see. A real actor.
I liked this film a lot. I wouldn't want to see it again. It is not so much dated as just a bit too melodramatic for my taste.
That makes it a 3 out of Netflix5.
Labels: best films
