ANOTHER WOMAN

Gena Rowlands

ANOTHER WOMAN (1988). Writer/director: Woody Allen.

"I accept your condemnation."

Marion (Gena Rowlands) takes an apartment to work on her latest book in peace but discovers she can hear conversations in the next-door psychiatrist's office through a vent. One particular patient stands out in her mind, Hope (Mia Farrow), whom she eventually meets. In the meantime she has encounters of varying kinds with her partially estranged brother, Paul (Harris Yulin); her aged father (John Houseman); an old friend-actress (Sandy Dennis of That Cold Day in the Park), who tells her their long separation was deliberate on her part; and her husband Ken (Ian Holm), who seems strangely disinterested in love-making. There are also flashbacks to her conversations with such as Larry (Gene Hackman), a friend of Ken's who fell in love with her. Another Woman is extremely well-acted, has excellent dialogue, is handsomely photographed by Sven Nykvist, and certainly holds the attention, but it may not deliver the pay-off the viewer is expecting. Perhaps the movie, which is apparently meant to look at the life of a woman who keeps her feelings too much in control, is too subtle to have major impact. Rowlands [The Skeleton Key] gives an outstanding performance, however, which is most of the film's pleasure, and there are also excellent performances by Sandy Dennis (her confrontation with Rowlands in a bar is one of the best scenes in the movie) and a wonderful John Houseman [Murder By Phone]. Betty Buckley has a well-played bit as Ken's ex-wife, who shows up in the middle of a party. and causes an understandable scene. Allen has created real characters, but that doesn't mean his characterization is always incisive, and we really don't get to know any of these people, including Marion, well enough to give a damn about any of them.

Verdict: The acting puts this over and it is certainly absorbing despite its flaws. *** out of 4.

THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR SEASON 1

THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR [1962 - 1965]. First season. 

The half hour Alfred Hitchcock Presents expanded into an hour with a name change to match but with the same droll introductions by the inimitable Alfred Hitchcock. As usual the stories ran the gamut from chillers to crime dramas to suspense stories to murder mysteries. Surprisingly, many of them lacked a final twist or other clever aspect, but were more matter-of-fact, rescued by a good plot or excellent performances. Most of the episodes of the first season were in the "B" or "C" category -- with a couple of "D's" -- but there were also several outstanding "A" episodes. These include: "Captive Audience," with a superb James Mason as a writer losing his grip on reality over a beautiful woman (Angie Dickinson); "Hangover," with Tony Randall trying to piece together the past few days with the help of Jayne Mansfield (whose appearance and solid non-sex kitten performance are a very pleasant surprise); "Paragon," a strange story about a completely self-absorbed woman played winningly by Joan Fontaine; the very moving "Lonely Heart," in which Nancy Kelly is convinced that Gena Rowlands was accidentally given her own baby [both actresses are excellent]; and the completely unpredictable "Death and the Joyful Woman," in which Gilbert Roland ferociously plays a monster father and Lorraine Day is equally good as the secretary who is in love with him. Even the less interesting shows are quite entertaining and well-acted. 

Verdict: Good show, Hitch! ***.

A CHILD IS WAITING

A CHILD IS WAITING (1963). Director: John Cassavetes.

Jean Hansen (Judy Garland) gets a job as music teacher at an institution for mentally-disabled youngsters, hoping to find some meaning in her life. Dr. Ben Clark (Burt Lancaster), the head of the school, clashes with her, warning her that if she gets too close to one child the other children will get jealous. Lancaster feels the children shouldn't be coddled too much if they are to be helped. Still, when Jean learns that one small boy, Reuben (Bruce Ritchie, pictured), waits every Wednesday in his best clothes for his parents to come -- and they never do -- she decides to take it upon herself to get in touch with them, leading to complications. This is a beautiful -- and absolutely heart-breaking -- movie that tugs at your emotions practically from the first frame to the last. While attitudes toward the mentally-disabled and teaching methods for same may have changed since the film was made -- it doesn't seem as if every child, especially the mildly-retarded, must be institutionalized, for one thing -- and despite the fact that producer Stanley Kramer and director John Cassavetes reportedly clashed while filming and during post-production, A Child is Waiting does get across that these young people [most of the children are mentally-disabled in real life] are just people deserving of love and support and a fighting chance to make a place in society, or at least to come to peace with themselves. So while the movie is undeniably a powerful tearjerker -- I'm not ashamed to confess that I blubbered all the way through it -- it also has a message of hope and is therefore uplifting. Call it manipulative at times if you will, but it is certainly effective and poignant.

Burt Lancaster gives one of his best performances as Dr. Clark. He is not lacking in compassion but you also suspect he thinks of his little charges in part as experiments. Judy Garland gives an excellent, restrained performance (and if ever there were a movie where she could have been forgiven for going over the top, this is it) and is so loving and kind to a new little boy at the ending that it's readily apparent that she was deeply moved to be among these children. She also has a nice scene leading the children in a singalong where it's clear -- that while she's supposed to be reacting to the disappointment in the little boy sitting beside her -- that she's holding back tears because of her general feelings for the children. This is more Lancaster's film than Garland's, however, as she's given no big scenes (just well-done smaller moments) and her character is never explored in any depth. Gena Rowlands and Steven Hill score as the confused and tortured parents of young Reuben -- Hill is certainly much better than he was in The Goddess. There are also fine supporting performances from Elizabeth Wilson, Paul Stewart, and others. Child actor Bruce Ritchie certainly makes an impression as the lonely little Reuben. He appeared in one other movie, The Silencers, in 1966.

Verdict: If this one doesn't give you a lump in the throat, check your pulse -- you're dead! ****.

THE SKELETON KEY

THE SKELETON KEY (2005). Director: Iain Softley. Screenplay by Ehren Kruger.

A young woman (Kate Hudson) applies for a position as nurse to a dying man in a Southern mansion and becomes embroiled in a mystery allegedly involving voodoo curses and a black servant couple who were murdered by a mob many years before. Hudson seems to suspect the dying man's wife Violet (Gena Rowlands) of being responsible for his condition, but she never bothers to take a sample of his blood to the police for analysis. The “twist” ending to this may be a surprise but it will not seem especially original to anyone who's seen The Mephisto Waltz and other films with a similar theme. The movie looks good and holds your attention, but the script is superficial and rather silly at times; the characters barely developed. An unrecognizable John Hurt is fine as the mostly mute old man. Gena Rowlands is simply splendid; next to her Kate Hudson seems a tame kitten coming up against a tigress. But neither Hudson nor her character are very appealing in this.

Verdict: Passable, but you've seen better. **.

TAKING LIVES

TAKING LIVES (2004). Director: D. J. Caruso.

Angelina Jolie is an FBI profiler brought in to help track down a serial killer who repeatedly takes the lives – figuratively and literally – of a succession of victims whose identities he assumes until the next poor fellow comes along. Ethan Hawke is the witness to the latest horrific homicide. When Jolie finds herself drawn to Hawke, resulting in an intense if uncomfortable-looking sex scene, there at least seem to be consequences to her actions. Taking Lives holds the attention until it falls apart in the final quarter and becomes increasingly predictable and ridiculous. D. J. Caruso helms the film with professional vigor, but a Hitchcock he ain't. Hawke, Kiefer Sutherland (in a brief turn), Gena Rowlands (wasted as the mother of the killer), and others in the cast acquit themselves nicely for the most part, but Jolie, acting with her lips, wears one expression and one expression only throughout the entire film. (You have to see her blank – as opposed to numb -- reaction to a beheading in an elevator to believe it. Otherwise this grisly scene is well-handled.) Cobbled together from elements of many different thrillers, Taking Lives generally looks good but probably worked a lot better as a novel; the film version is a major disappointment. Philip Glass' score is hackneyed and entirely forgettable.

Verdict: You've seen it all before and you'll see it again. **.