Viol et châtiment

When I was sixteen, this movie was released. I saw it opening night. I was not disappointed either. Well I saw it again the other day and it really is not that bad. Chris Sarandon had just been Oscar-nominated for "Dog Day Afternoon" and I wanted to see all his movies, and I was interested in seeing the Hemingway sisters. Anne Bancroft adds a lot as a laywer on the case. Perry King is also aboard. Its not a great movie by any means and the subject matter is obviously objectionable, but this movie is not without value.

First, I *have* seen this movie. It's not a great movie (most movies aren't), but it seems to me that those making negative comments "protest too much". They were clever enough to avoid openly making a charge of "Political Correctness", but I strongly suspect that the real reason for the most negative comments is that those making them are livid that that *nasty* girl (an early "feminazi, no doubt) *dared* to take it upon herself to exact retribution, a retribution that was illegal, to be sure, but which was quite just as far as I'm concerned. No doubt there are plenty of people who are quite unpleased with the idea that a mere woman might hold a male (and a white male at that) accountable for his actions in such a drastic way.

This is another lurid entry into the misbegotten "rape-revenge" genre, but it manages to be even more sleazy than usual because it was backed by a major studio and it features two of Ernest Hemingway's granddaughters (only one of whom was talented), sisters Margeaux and Mariel Hemingway.

The late model-actress (or, more accurately, model-bad actress)Margeaux Hemingway plays an, um, model (at least she doesn't stretch herself too much) who lets her younger sister's middle-school music teacher (Chris Sarandon) into her house to listen to his weird avante-garde music. Unfortunately, he turns out to be a frustrated psycho (aren't all middle-school music teachers?)who flies into a rage when she ignores him to take a phone call. So he ties her to the bed and violently sodomizes her(!) in a highly exploitative scene that involves Margeaux being butt-naked and tied up for nearly ten minutes (Strangely, Mariel Hemingway ended up in exactly the same position some years later at the end of the otherwise much better Dorothy Stratten bio "Star 80"). In the meantime, her younger sister walks in, but she isn't quite sure what she saw. Just like in real-life, the police and the courts are pretty ineffectual, but their portrayal here is still pretty over the top. (Is it normal police procedure to ask a rape victim if she had been defecated on?!). Without giving too much away, Sarandon's character (who even for a middle-school music teacher is ridiculously evil) sets his sights on the younger Mariel and has to face the wrath of the vengeful Margeaux.

Margeaux Hemingway was not much of an actress and she has one of the most annoying voices in the history of cinema. She's horribly unconvincing both as a rape victim and a vigilante. Even in her first role, Mariel Hemingway is far better as the troubled teen who isn't sure if she saw her favorite teacher raping her sister or her slutty sister seducing him. Chris Sarandon is also pretty good, and he no doubt had a hard time living this role down, but he would go on to "The Sentinel" and "Fright Night". I somehow missed this sleazy piece of trash back in the 70's (but I guess I was only seven at the time), but I saw it recently completely by accident while trying to find an even more obscure (and much better) Italian film with the same name. This is NOT good by a long shot but it is memorably sleazy.

This movie did get a bad rap. Chris Sarandon is excellent as a school teacher who rapes fashion model Margeaux Hemingway. There is lots of tension before the rape and we really see Chris as a big time weirdo who plays really bad music while poor Margeaux tries to make an excuse to leave the room. When he sees this as a way of her dismissing him as a person he goes berserk. The rape scene is actually not as graphic as some of the crap that passes todays censors. For a first time actress I think Margeaux was quite good. Her little sister proves natural acting talent does run in the Hemingway family. She does excel in this role an gives an understated perforamce especially after she herself is raped by the same teacher. The building used in the fashion sequences is not the Beverly Center as mentioned by another IMDb user but actually the Pacific Design Center a few blocks away. The ending is quite good as it shows the hypocrisy of our legal system. Anne Bancroft adds a bit of class to this production and the disco music is dated but it gives this movie a cool 70's feel. The ending is sensational but still believable.

This was the debut film for both Mariel and Margaux Hemingway. It was probably this film where Woody Allen saw Mariel for the first time, before casting her 3 years later as his girlfriend in 'Manhattan' (1979). I would love to hear the story about how THIS became the script that introduced the ladies to Hollywood.

The shots of Los Angeles are great, the Hemingway girls are beautiful, and the film is intense throughout.

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 1/1; Casting - 1/1; Directing - 1/1; Story - 1/1; Writing/Screenplay - 1/1;

Total Base Score = 5

Modifiers (+ or -): Standout Performances: 1 ( Mariel Hemingway );

Total RealReview Rating: 6