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Post by wmcclain on Nov 13, 2022 20:29:17 GMT
Darling (1965), directed by John Schlesinger. A mid-60s mod soap opera, not strongly plotted, just episodes in the life of a model and her men. She describes herself as "a professional bosom" and seems a bit dim and emotionally shallow. Which doesn't mean she doesn't suffer real pain. For some reason she is restless and unable to be happy for long. She needs men in her life but says she doesn't enjoy sex very much. The bitter social commentary is set up in the opening credits: tattered posters of starving African children are covered with a new shining ad featuring our fashion goddess. Who wants to look at hungry children when you can regard Julie Christie? Later she presides at a charity raffle for wealthy patrons at an upscale gambling house. African relief is the cause and black boys in white wigs and antique page boy costumes are serving. I've always been fascinated by Christie, a great beauty with a distinguished career: Doctor Zhivago (1965), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), Petulia (1968), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), Don't Look Now (1973), Demon Seed (1977), Heat and Dust (1983). Love that nose, I really do. Schlesinger directed her before in Billy Liar (1963) and would do so again in Far from the Madding Crowd (1967). Adding further intrigue: her leading men are Dirk Bogarde and Laurence Harvey, both gay actors. (Gossips say Harvey was flexible: he married three times for career advancement). A notable amount of gay in this one for 1965. A funny scene: in Italy she is sunbathing with her friend and his friends. When a timer goes off all the men turn over but she doesn't bother. More: Harvey projects a sort of satanic image and runs with a fast crowd. In Paris he takes her to a party with a live sex show and a cruel "truth" game. She doesn't like it at first but adapts. And yet, he surprises us in the end, by actually seeming to care about her. She: "You think I'm going to harm myself, don't you? Has this happened to you before? Who was she?" I like seeing mid-60s London with excursions to Rome and Capri. Much as I admire the talent, 2h6m is long enough for this. My thumbnails are from a region B Blu-ray import. I don't see a North American edition.
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Post by timshelboy on Nov 13, 2022 21:19:08 GMT
Possibly my favourite movie - Oscar winning Frederic Raphael script and frocks by Julie Harris, plus a great Johnny Dankworth score. Harvey is at his best here - a favourite actor. Her gay BF or "fagbangle" , photographer Malcolm (Roland Curram) is historically important - a gay who doesn't kill themself,or get killed, live a celibate life or be a child molester or Bond Villain. Malcolm has and is loads of fun and even gets lucky with a Delon-alike waiter (whom Julie bags the following night - how modern!). Schlesinger gets lumped in with British New Wave directors but really this is a British DOLCE VITA set in a London on the cusp of "swinging". And Christie is positively incandescent.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 13, 2022 21:50:31 GMT
I hate it. Boring, on-the-nose soaper badly in need of wit and insight.
Curiously enough, Schlesinger's previous film Billy Liar is in my personal top 10 -- maybe top 5. So much for the director-as-auteur theory.
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Post by marshamae on Nov 14, 2022 2:12:46 GMT
I loved this film . It was a big part of my coming of age Girls at my high school devoured magazines about Christie. Now it is a slice of Mod 60’s London. It is also a perfect example of a limited narrator. It’s so completely from her point of view, with the audience able to see many things she does not know. It is interesting that though she is shallow, and in over her head with each man, she still manages to overcome. She is in control but not happy. It’s not so clear that anything would make her happy.
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Post by timshelboy on Nov 14, 2022 17:46:04 GMT
A shout out to the mini films within the film Schlesinger has fun with - JACQUELINE (an Edgar Wallace type B movie) the Chocolate advert, the wedding newsreel..... and yes excellent example of unreliable narrator The money men wanted Shirley Maclaine - How ghastly would that have been ? - but luckily Janni & Schlesinger held out for Christie. I have read Sofia Coppola planning a (gay) remake - much as she interests me I kind of think it should be left alone - as noted the original has plenty of gay as is - 2 years before decriminalisation too.
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lune7000
Junior Member
@lune7000
Posts: 1,091
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Post by lune7000 on Nov 14, 2022 21:52:03 GMT
So much of how we react to a film has to do with our expectations about it when we begin- its hard to just let go and just take whatever a film gives us.
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