Uma Paixão sem Passado

Antiques dealer in London, a bachelor who appears to be hesitant of becoming involved with a woman (particularly one with a child), meets a beautiful, enigmatic German girl while on business in Copenhagen. They have a whirlwind courtship and are soon married, but a tragic event in her recent past threatens to tear the lovers apart. Tale of obsessive love and guilt is reticent about revealing its secrets--and, when the climax arrives, it's obscure and troubling, and viewers are left puzzled and rather put off. Dreamily essayed and shot by writer-director Gordon Hessler, via Richard Adams' novel, the film's mercurial nature and heavy-handed psychological overtures may try some viewers' patience long before the climax. Even more frustrating is Meg Tilly's German accent; the actress, glamorous for really the first time, is as dazed and fuzzy-of-thought as ever, and often she's impossible to understand. It's easy to see how a long-time bachelor would become obsessed with her--she's like one of those fragile porcelain figures in his shop--but Hessler dotes on her and dotes on her. Leading man Rupert Frazer is convincingly haunted by the dangerous beauty, though he seems to understand her long before we do. If one responds to the couple's emotional journey, there is hope that the passion and eroticism and heartbreak will all piece together satisfyingly by the end. That doesn't really happen in Hessler's treatment--we're left to ponder the conclusions drawn--yet the high drama at hand is often quite intriguing. **1/2 from ****

A repressed Episcopalian antique dealer falls head over heels in love with his beautiful but mysterious German secretary, and is apparently so blinded by emotion that he never thinks to ask her a single question about herself. As played by a miscast Meg Tilly she's meant to be an enigmatic blend of beguiling innocence and animal passion, but what begins as a lumpy Continental romance (highlighted by some of the most banal endearments to be heard since John Gilbert was laughed off the screen) goes from love story to ghost story in one awkward Turn of the Screw. What is femme fatale Karin Forster's dark secret: is she a reformed prostitute? A pagan sorceress? A figment of her lover's overwrought imagination? Don't expect any answers from director Gordon Hessler, whose adaptation of the novel by Richard Adams is even more stiff and lifeless than its protagonist. Hessler shows obvious pride in his ability to make a halfway literate film; but it's the other half that makes no sense whatsoever, and the portentous scenario, alongside the lame dialogue, provokes more laughs than shivers.

I remember the buzz about this movie when it came out. The sexuality, the ethereal, metaphysical theme. Sounds intriguing, no? Therefore I was surprised to see Maltin call it "unwatchable" and "a stinker". That was all before I watched it. Now that I have, I tend to agree with Leonard. Ebert's review is interesting because he "didn't get it" either, and seemed to say that the movie had accomplished something by puzzling him. You're too kind, Roger. This could have been a great movie. Each scene was well shot. Unfortunately, the whole was less than the sum of its parts. I was going to blame the Director but perhaps the Editor was more to blame. The faults: 1) the mystery, when revealed, didn't ring true. 2) the sex was totally un-erotic. 3) the visions were confusing and hokey. 4) [perhaps most annoying of all] All of Meg Tilly's lines were delivered in a whisper and with a horrible attempt at a german accent, 50% of her dialog was unintelligible.

Alan Desland is a cultivated English bachelor who has taken over his family's antique porcelain business. On a business trip to Copenhagen, he meets and immediately falls in love with Karin, a stunning German beauty. After only a couple of weeks they marry, honeymoon, and settle into life in Alan's hometown. At first their erotically charged relationship seems like paradise, but this, of course, cannot last. Karin has told Alan virtually nothing of her past, and her dark secret eventually manifests with supernatural trappings and threatens everything.

"The Girl in a Swing" is based on the 1980 novel by Richard "Watership Down" Adams. The film has one thing going for it; the script does an admirable job of lining up and hitting a good number of the novel's main plot points and scenes. Otherwise, this overwrought melodrama has little to recommend it.

There is so much to criticize--from the passionless direction to the insipid soundtrack, awful costuming, and poor casting. Meg Tilly in the role of Karin is particularly troublesome. While she is a fairly attractive woman, she does not project the sort of unearthly eroticism that the character requires. Worse, her muddled, affected German accent obscures most of her dialogue. When Tilly isn't screeching "Alan!" she is mumbling and slurring her most important lines. Director Gordon Hessler does little to salvage things, as he opts to film most of the important supernatural and erotic sequences in one of two modes--either flat or melodramatic.

While very few films adapted from novels can attain the dense subtext of their source material, such a film might at least evoke the essence of the story by establishing a strong mood consistent with the novelist's vision. This film, however, aspires to nothing so worthy. It neither succeeds as an adaptation of Adams' complex novel nor as a worthy cinematic effort in its own right.

THE GIRL IN A SWING is an odd little mystery film, directed by horror stalwart Gordon Hessler and based on a book by Richard Adams (of WATERSHIP DOWN fame) of all people. As I understand it, it follows the classic novel adaptation format of removing pretty much of all of the lyrical beauty and atmosphere of the prose, leaving it a very ordinary kind of mystery/romance.

The main problem with this movie is that it's so very slow. I find watching romance films a very boring experience, and 90% of this is romance. A handful of weird events and clues are thrown in to keep the viewer interested, but for the most part this is just about characters lounging around and declaring their love for one another. The film DOES benefit hugely from casting the lovely Meg Tilly (PSYCHO II) as the love interest. Tilly has an ethereal beauty that Hessler captures well on film, and it's a shame that she's not matched by Rupert Frazer who plays against her, although to be fair he doesn't have much to do as the insufferably straight leading character.

Hessler was making B-movie fun with the likes of THE OBLONG BOX and SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN some twenty years before this film so he knows his way around the camera, so it's just a pity that the material is quite dull. A series of erotic and sex scenes flesh out the narrative (quite literally in terms of Tilly's nudity) but the plot really only kicks in in the last twenty minutes and by then it's all over. THE GIRL IN A SWING has potential and a commendable atmosphere on occasion, but I'm afraid there's too little here to whet the appetite of all but the most dedicated cinema fans.