Frenesia del piacere

There are scenes from this movie that have been burned into my memory for years-- Anne Bancroft being accosted a crazed and lonely housewife while in a beauty parlor, her nervous breakdown in the middle of Harrod's in London, James Mason revealing her husband's infidelity to her cruelly while having tea at the zoo-- The Pumpkin Eater is one of my favorite movies. Anne Bancroft never gave a better performance-- she is startlingly good-- plus the excellent Harold Pinter screenplay and the brilliant direction of Jack Clayton-- this film is an eloquent essay on isolation and emptiness among other things. I recommend this film to all serious students of acting, writing, and directing. What a brilliant performance by the great Anne Bancroft. She won many awards for inc,, and should have won the Oscar Award also.

The Pumpkin Eater, which for many years was my favorite movie, is a neglected masterpiece of the British New Wave. I'm not sure whether its lack of recognition is attributable more to its misanthropic point of view or to Jack Clayton's sparse filmography (he never developed the immediately recognizable personal style required for elevation to the auteur pantheon). It didn't help that initial reviewers badly misunderstood the film -- Dwight Macdonald thought it was a typical "women's film", meant to provide erotic titillation! On the other hand, feminist critics probably weren't eager to defend a film that could be interpreted as anti-abortion propaganda (also a misreading). Perhaps a more mature feminism will reclaim this film.

Admittedly, the movie is difficult to understand on a first viewing -- both because of its intricate flashback structure and its complexities of tone and attitude. It took me several viewings to fully sort out the plot, and several more to realize what I was actually seeing -- a very, very black comedy. In this respect it's worth placing with the darkest works of Evelyn Waugh or Henry Green.

The film catches its participants at the top of their form: Pinter never wrote a better screenplay, Anne Bancroft (arguably) never gave a better performance, Peter Finch certainly didn't, and Maggie Smith and James Mason are deliciously evil in supporting roles. There are too many marvelous moments to list them all, but watch especially for the zoo scene between Bancroft and Mason (who are clearly having a great time) and for the slyly-written scene where Finch learns that his wife is pregnant -- again.

So why is it no longer my favorite movie? My admiration for its technique is unabated, but as I get older I find the film's nasty tone harder and harder to take. There's not an admirable human being in the whole movie -- they're all foolish, duplicitous, or vindictive. I can't live with these people, much as I've enjoyed eavesdropping on them over the years.

I love Mortimer's book and Pinter's script follows it closely. Bancroft has always been my favorite actress and I think this is her greatest performance. I'm glad she flew to England and convinced Jack Clayton to hire her. It is no wonder her talent has been compared to Magnani! Finch and Mason are flawless but it is definitely Bancroft's film. She is so convincing it is as though you can read her character's every thought through her facial expressions. She was robbed of the Academy Award. Yootha Joyce is excellent in a bit part during a beauty parlor scene. The actors in this film are all so good that I feel like I am peering into the lives of real people. Anyone who has been in a relationship with someone who has been unfaithful can relate to this film. I love Clayton's use of flashback to tell Jo's story. I think he was an underrated director. The score by Georges Delerue is beautiful and I wish it were available in his cd catalog.

This is my absolute favorite film of all time, and Anne Bancroft's performance is her best. Made in 1964 and set in London, this film tells the story of a woman who is in the middle of her third marriage, to a screenwriter, played by Peter Finch. Her character, Jo Armitage, is a woman who truly seems to find her self-worth and happiness only when she is pregnant and raising children. Once her children become even only slightly older, she seems to lose her sense of purpose, and allows herself to become quite isolated in the world. Her current husband, the screenwriter, doesn't make matters any better for her either.

This is definitely Anne Bancroft's film all the way, and she is breathtakingly beautiful in it as well. Her portrayal of Jo Armitage paints a very lonely, depressed, lost, and in many ways pathetic character...but it is also strangely my favorite performance of Bancroft. Look also for wonderful supporting performances by James Mason and Maggie Smith. This film weaves a disturbing yet very realistic portrait of a bad marriage (some might just say "marriage"), and it should be studied for its acting and its writing. In addition, Georges Delerue's musical score is superb, and I am always searching for the film's soundtrack, but have had no luck. Thanks to beautiful art direction by Edward Marshall, their home interior is also gorgeous...'60's chic. I've seen this film at least 60 times, and never tire of it. It's a quiet little masterpiece.

I came upon this movie on late night t.v. a few years back. I really love Anne Bancroft and I think that she is, not underrated, but more correctly, overlooked as a great actress. This film is a wonderful study of a marriage in trouble and Ms. Bancroft and the great Peter Finch are so believable as lovers and as a married couple that I wondered why I had never even heard of the film before. I felt their pain - wait, sorry . . . I think someone else named Clinton coined that phrase. But seriously, Anne Bancroft is able to really convey heartbreaking loneliness that you just want to cry or help her in some way. I love movies that engage you thoroughly. If you enjoy movies that make you think and also have a viewpoint about human relations, please try to find this film. An added bonus is a wonderful appearance in a small role by Maggie Smith - certainly a very early one in her career. I really like finding gems like this!