Quando a Vida é Cruel

Written and directed by Jack Garfein, "Something Wild" is a gray-toned contemplation of the relationship between need and love. I think it is fair to say that some viewers will be disturbed by the story, which is about a young woman, Mary Ann (Carroll Baker, wife of the director), victimized and despairing, who meets a young man, Mike (Ralph Meeker), whose agenda is unclear.

The pathway from despair to hope, or false hope, is examined by this film in a dramatic and unconventional way. Contributing to the tone of the film are the B&W photography and the score by Aaron Copland.

The acting is terrific. Baker's and Meeker's characters may live in your imagination after the end credits. New York City plays its role as the vast backdrop to this dark tale.

One final note: Though they are only connected by the riveting performances of Ms. Baker, if you like this film, you may like "Baby Doll"--another distinctive and artistically risky film.

I remember watching this movie when i was in grade school and getting reprimanded by parents for viewing an"adult" film. I have seen it through various stages of my life and still find it intriguing. Both Mike and Maryann are not endearing characters and have many physical and psychological problems. When I say they deserve one another;I don't mean it in a harsh way, but rather a statement of practicality. We are not shed too much light on their past, but know it is affecting their present. Only with the help and love of each other can they survive their all too bleak future. The filming in black and white certainly adds to the dreariness of their situations. They are not "people" persons, but seem to have respect and commiseration for one another. Though Mike (RalphMeeker) seems to be controlling and possessive, it is something Maryann unconsciously needs. He builds her stamina and literally sharpens her survival skills. Maryann had problems before the rape as seen in flashbacks of her school and home life. Mike seems to be more mysterious, living a desolate and pitiful existence..only confiding to her that she is his last chance. It is only through their incredible acting that you forgive their shortcomings.

Student traumatized by a rape is saved from suicide by a lonely mechanic, who feels she may be his last chance for happiness. Beguiling art film missed cult status by that much. Director Jack Garfien, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Alex Karmel from Karmel's novel "Mary Ann", and his wife, actress Carroll Baker, put everything on the line for this production, but it didn't connect with audiences at the time. It looks good today, however, and has an unusual, unnerving, voyeuristic quality. Baker and Ralph Meeker have intriguing chemistry, though the premise--that the mechanic keeps the girl like a wounded pet in his little hovel--is often creepy instead of romantic (although I'm not sure of the actual intention here). Incredible jazz score by Aaron Copland; striking black-and-white cinematography from Eugen Shuftan. A mixed bag, mostly effective. **1/2 from ****

"Something Wild" tells a very simple story. A young woman is raped and her whole world falls to pieces. She is saved from a suicide attempt by a lonely young man who helps her to heal. It's not such an exceptional tale. You could even apply to it that famous line from the TV series "The Naked City": "There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them." We are witness to some very personal and intimate moments in the lives of two people whose ability to feel has been smothered. The woman has had her whole being violated. The man, craving love, tries to hold onto her. The two actors, Carroll Baker and Ralph Meeker, certainly are game, but I was uncomfortable with the second half of the film both times that I watched it. The two lead actors sometimes seem stranded in scenes that are quite stagey, and some lines, especially Meeker's "you're my last chance", land with a resounding clunk. Although the woman might still be suicidal, and would-be suicides can be quite devious, I just didn't buy the hostage situation (or the ending), and it was repugnant to me, anyway. It was, essentially, the old cliché of the controlling man telling the woman: "Do as you're told, because I know what's best for you." For a woman traumatized by rape that can hardly be reassuring.

This film is helped immeasurably by its low budget and on-location shooting in New York City. No amount of studio fakery could duplicate the ethereal majesty of the Brooklyn Bridge or the teeming streets of the tenements, or the interesting clutter of a five-and-dime store. The first half of the film, depicting the rape and the woman's trauma, following it, is gripping and believable, in no small way due to Baker's performance, though the film's view of humanity struck me as rather misanthropic. The work of Saul Bass (titles) and Aaron Copland (music) felt as if it was created for a more hyper urban drama than this intimate piece, but Eugen Schufftan's cinematography was obviously a labour of love.

Actually, New York,New York is the real star of SOMETHING WILD. Carroll Baker is lovingly lit throughout the whole picture(thanks to Director and then husband Jack Garfein)amidst the alternate squalor and splendor of America's greatest city.

The brutal rape of Miss Baker's character within the first 5 minutes of the movie is depicted with surprising frankness for its time. One can almost smell the sweat of the predatory thug who, without saying a word, viciously violates her. This scene is all the more harrowing in that there is no music soundtrack provided. Yet another example that The Hays Code was becoming by 1961 an historical document not reflecting the current mood of what the North American movie public was indeed mature enough to view on the silver screen.

I really enjoyed the kitchen sink realism of this picture, from the cattiness of the girls at Woolworth's against fellow worker Miss Baker(Doris Roberts nails her part for all it's worth) to the good natured slovenliness of Jean Stapleton's next door neighbor in the tenement slum.

Ralph Meeker(every man's meat&potatoes actor)is Carroll Baker's 'knight in shining armor' in this movie. Rescuing Miss Baker from a leap into despair and the briny deep, he then proceeds to hold her captive in his castle,or in this case a barren basement bed and...bed. "Mike" is an auto mechanic and yet he has no phone,no radio, and just one light bulb that illuminates the entire room. However, away from the elbow grease of his job, "Mike" likes to spend his hard earned money bending his elbow at the neighborhood bar. We see the staggering evidence on more than one occasion and poor Carroll, already victimized earlier now has to confront yet another man turned beast.

Of particular notice is Carroll Baker's wardrobe throughout this flick. She wears light-colored dresses and matching white pumps which, with her soft, flowing blonde hair, enhances her already luminous presence on screen. This is all the more striking in black & white,particularly during the location shots along the sleazy store fronts of 42nd St. Only at the movie's end does she wear a dark print dress and jet black high heels. Likewise in BABY DOLL, Miss Baker wore white until the final reel,after her climactic encounter with Eli Wallach,in which she then donned a black dress.

Parallels may be drawn between the two movies, but SOMETHING WILD is as valid today as a subway token. Some days you are lucky to find a seat,while on others you better hold on to the overhanging strap.

Rate this *** out of **** stars.