Ein kalter Tag im Park

Robert Altman is one of my favorite directors, and I had succeeded in seeing all but two of the many films he made during his career: "Health" and "That Cold Day in the Park." Neither were available anywhere to see for the longest time, and then a month ago or so the Gene Siskel Film Centre in Chicago had "That Cold Day" on its calendar, so I finally got a chance to review it.

It's a much better movie than I had expected given its obscurity and the dismissive response from critics and audiences upon its release. It's the first of four dream films centering on the psychological distress of primarily female protagonists that Altman would make over the course of his career. Sandy Dennis plays a Canadian spinster who takes in a younger man who's only too happy to let her buy him clothes, food, etc. There is no sexual component to their transaction, but the sexual tension nonetheless builds to a breaking point, at which point Dennis's character goes off the rails in a macabre finale.

Dennis is quite good and tones down her mannered acting habits. The film stylistically bears many of the hallmark Altman traits, like images broken up and refracted in reflective surfaces or the roving camera that will zoom in on a particular detail. I quite enjoyed this film and think that it deserves more mention in discussions about Altman's canon than it customarily receives.

Grade: A-

What I find remarkable about this terrific film, is that Altman, the crazy and wild guy that he is, took the novel THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK and the Sandy Dennis character was originally a male in the book. He was a mentally whacked out isolated gay who looked out of his apartment window when he spotted the hustler. It is strange that Altman fans aren't aware of how clever he was to change the sex of the main character; thereby avoiding the homo erotic taboos of gay life in the 60's and actually making Dennis' reclusive kind of madness work even better in the transposition.If you see the film again, it will be evident how wily the Altman mind works...

A rich but lonely spinster, Fraces Austen (Sandy Dennis) invites a stranger, young man (Michael Burns) to her home and lets him live with her.

This movie sounds intriguing because the plot and the promotional materials suggest the subject matter of sex even more so involving an older woman, but if viewed through today's standard, this would likely confuse and could potentially garner the worst rating from its audience. And that is because this movie is totally something different. I say this pertaining to how the story was executed. More recent films tend to spoon-feed moviegoers to avoid alienating them from the story of the movie, but at the expense of losing the audience's active participation. I have realized that the movie holds up because it does not follow that trend. It offers so much more beneath the surface for the thoughtful and patient viewer. This is certainly a film that would get better upon repeated viewings. The performance of Sandy Dennis alone is a testament to that. With her almost blank facial expression, her performance adds to the emotional depth of the character. She is perfect for it. The direction of then newcomer Robert Altman (who would later direct classic films such as Nashville and M.A.S.H.) is rightfully subtle. He was able to both reveal and conceal elements for the benefit of the material.

If you are looking for a movie with straight forward storytelling and a clear quick payoff to enjoy and relax to, this might exhaust and bore you to tears. But if you are interested with unconventional narratives that will make you more an active watcher and immerse you in the subject of psychology or simply in how people in the same position think and behave, this will pass as entertaining to you or even more than that. You will surely be rewarded one way or another.

Sandy Dennis plays a lonely woman who sees a young man sitting on a park bench in the rain and invites him in to dry off. He does not speak and she feeds him and buys him new clothes to wear. Dennis is perfect as the troubled lady with severe mental issues. She lives in a world of intense sexual repression, which is never fully explained. The boy turns out to be involved with the 1960's drug and free love culture. The finale is heart breaking and Robert Altman went on to a successful directorial career. Dennis won a Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and she should have one another for this film.

If you remember how Sandy Dennis charmed your socks off in "Up The Down Staircase," be forewarned, she WILL creep you out in "That Cold Day in The Park." Remember to tell yourself, that this is only a movie, and she was only an actress...and a damned good one.