Identikit

This strange little film has a small but devoted cult following, due to it's haunting atmosphere, obscure storyline, and a hypnotic performance by the Great Elizabeth Taylor. She stars as Lise, a spinster who makes a decision to go on a holiday, a trip that will be her last, to Rome. Dressed in a psychedelic outfit made up of every color in the rainbow, she is a peacock, using colors to attract a certain man. A man that will fulfill her darkest wish. The viewer must wait until the end of the film to find out just exactly what the crazed Lise is looking for. The ending is pretty gruesome, and not expected. But before we get there, Taylor, as Lise, gives us a guided tour of a very different looking Rome, as well as a tour of her own warped and desperate psyche. This film is what art-house cinema is all about. As far away from Hollywood as you can hope to get, there has never been a film quite like this one. Taylor exudes such an intense feeling of loneliness here, so much so, that some will find this to be a somewhat depressing film experience. But this is not a 'feel-good' film, although it is filled with some truly hilarious one-liners that you might find yourself repeating with friends who you watch this with. Some critics call this Taylors worst film, but that is utterly preposterous. It doesn't have the glossy, expensive look of her earlier Hollywood films, but then again this is a much darker and more serious film than say, "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof". Also she isn't as young and beautiful here, but if she were than the tale would not be so sad, and the desperation of this woman would make no sense. 'Identikit' is filled with familiar actors, all in totally memorable performances. Ian Bannon is hilarious as one of Lise's companions. Guido Mannari, a familiar presence in countless Italian exploitation movies is cast here as a lecherous mechanic who attempts to rape Taylor in a car. His performance is over-the-top sleazy. And veteran actress Mona Washbourne is priceless as the impromptu shopping companion of Lise, forever looking for the perfect gift for her nephew. Strangely, the shopping center sequence with Washbourne and Taylor, is one of my favorite scenes in all cinema. I don't know why, but I never get tired of listening to the strange conversation between the two eccentric characters as they wander around that modern-looking Rome shopping mall. And it is fitting that Andy Warhol has a cameo here, as both this film, and Warhol, are bizarre entities indeed. Also worth mentioning is the dark, moody background music, which compliments the feeling of the film perfectly. 'Identikit' is not for people who enjoy mainstream cinema. If 'Pretty Woman' is your idea of a good film, then you will most likely find this dark, murky film deplorable. But for fans of the precisely weird, i recommend this little-known gem. It is available as a 'cheapo' DVD. I paid around $5 dollars for it. Don't expect anamorphic widescreen here. In fact this looks like it was copied directly from a video tape. But for this film, it is somehow fitting. And I am grateful, and surprised that it is available at all. And incidentally... Do you have a gun?? Because if you did, you could shoot me...

You can see me walking behind her for a few seconds in around 22 minutes or so from the beginning and a few other shots of me from behind... she was actually very nice but well she was drinking and her language was a bit "rough" but lovely to see... I did hear her talk about her ending relationship with Mr Burton because they placed me in the airplane sequence in the row of seats in front of her so I heard her conversations with Ian Bannen between takes. She even mentioned that she usually wore her wedding ring in all her films and disguised it with stones during shoots but her ring was bare at this time.... it was a great experience and I even got paid a free lunches for two weeks.. Film barely released in cinemas. A gigantic flopperou

I have been watching and enjoying Elizabeth Taylor films all my life and this is one of her best. I think this film is one of the most underrated films of all time. It is flawless in every aspect...story, directing, set, music, clothes, and of course acting. The beautiful and talented actress Elizabeth Taylor does not walk through this one. She gives it her all, as well as does everyone else involved in this work of Art. This is not a spoon fed piece of sugar, rather a serious and artistic look at the psychology of a "person".

Amusing or alienating as many people as it intrigues, this fragmented psychological drama has some attention-getting elements, but can't quite overcome its limitations. Taylor plays an unusual and deeply troubled woman who heads to Rome, ostensibly to escape from her normal existence, but actually to complete a more deadly plan. Argumentative, demanding, disinterested and yet appalled, she wanders about airports, malls and parks, rather aimlessly awaiting the arrival of a man she feels destined to meet...but she isn't even sure who he is! The story is told in a fractured, flashback and flashforward-laden style. Taylor's intentions aren't spelled out clearly and the film often has a confusing or detached feel to it. This is, however, mostly intentional as her disintegrating mental state is exhibited. Sometimes Taylor's intensity during her episodes of anger and delusion gives the film an unintentionally humorous twist, such as when she resents being searched at the airport, throws a hissy fit over a smudged drinking glass, sprawls on the bed and fondles her own breasts and especially runs and falls after a car-bombing. Her story is punctuated by various encounters with strangers who find themselves in direct contact with someone who will later be the focus of a police investigation. Bannen plays a zealous macrobiotic swinger who wants to wine and dine Taylor. Washbourne is a kindly, but dotty, old lady who accompanies Taylor on a brief trip to a shopping center. Warhol is an austere and mysterious member of political society. She also encounters a skittish plane passenger and a lascivious (but scorchingly sexy) auto mechanic. Taylor, who is buried under a deliberately atrocious costume, huge, back-combed, frizzy hair, thick make up and a few extra pounds of weight, still manages to look beautiful in a few scattered shots. In certain light and at the right angle, she appears as striking as ever, though usually for just an instant or two. Somewhat rare, for her, is the amount of nudity she allows here, at one point standing for a long time with the sheerest of bras barely concealing her breasts. The cheapness of the titles, camera setups, dubbing, background music and lighting detract from the overall impact of the piece. Also, the script isn't coherent enough to really get it's points across. However, there is a certain level of interest in seeing Taylor go through the paces of this disturbed character. It's no classic, but it's unusual enough and striking enough, at times, to hold interest.

This obscure movie, which has been so unfairly panned by the critics of its time, actually manages to deliver what I believe was the intention, a disintegrating world of a psychotic woman. As viewers, we are somewhere in the middle of two layers of realities, the one being the compulsive psyche of the main character, Lise, portrayed by Liz Taylor, and the other one being the absurd and incoherent events in her surroundings. I quite like this film, I had expected a B-movie with second rate production values, but I was at least partly mistaken, the cinematography is effective in painting the psychotic state of mind, example; Lise turning to her right, framed in the left side of the screen, when addressing someone. Another scene, where Lise is attempting to get in touch with a woman she befriended just recently, who may be stuck in the lavatory from some illness, we see Lise at the same time completely absorbed by her own mirror image, disconnected from any real emotional concern over the lady that might be in peril. Maybe some think these are cheap means of making a weird and psychotic setting, still the movie makes the viewer access the process of disintegration of Lise. Furthermore, some scenes are chillingly before its time regarding terror events and crimes; terror do pop up everywhere these days, and maybe a modern day public can better identify themselves with a confused and disintegrating persona as Lise. We can barely understand our own feelings and our driving forces - how can we then understand the complexity of the human society in terms of terror and conflicts?