Suddenly, Last Summer

Tags

1950's, Elizabeth Taylor, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Katharine Hepburn, Melodrama, Montgomery Clift, Suddenly Last Summer

The quite wonderful Crystal asked me to take part in a blogathon that paid tribute to the iconic Elizabeth Taylor. I jumped at the chance to do so and will review Suddenly, Last Summer.

Film Title

Suddenly, Last Summer

Director

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring

• Elizabeth Taylor as Catherine Holly
• Katharine Hepburn as Violet Venable
• Montgomery Clift as Dr. John Cukrowicz

A typically heated and startling play by Tennessee Williams provide the basis for this shocking and highly dramatic movie. Suddenly, Last Summer is a go to for great dialogue, taboo subjects being brought up and fine acting from a starry cast.

1937 New Orleans; Dr. John Cukrowicz is a young surgeon who works at an asylum for the insane. He is growing restless with the crumbling building and conditions not being up to scratch for his work. The answer to securing more funds and much more accessible ways of doing his work comes one day with a letter. It is from Violet Venable, a wealthy widow who offers to help fund a new wing for the hospital. That is if he meets her to discuss something she wants in return. Encountering the ageing matriarch, he learns that her son Sebastian died suspiciously on a holiday last summer. Violet has a young, beautiful niece called Catherine Holly who is institutionalised following a trip to Europe the previous summer. On that trip was when the shocking death of Sebastian occurred and Catherine suffered a breakdown. Violet wants Cukrowicz to perform a lobotomy on Catherine, as she is secretly worried that Catherine has sinister information about her son that she was utterly devoted too. In return, she would supply him with the necessary things he requires for his practice. Cukrowicz is naturally skeptical about all of this, so he decides to meet Catherine himself.  Catherine, though emotionally disturbed by her cousin’s death, is not insane and Cukrowicz comes to see that she has blocked out the painful memories of the past but not completely forgotten it. He is determined to help her reveal what occurred with Sebastian on that fateful trip abroad. Due to her hysteria and in between sedation , it makes it difficult for him to push further with his investigation. But he is not going to stop and along with a determined Catherine, both want to get to the bottom of Catherine’s fragile mind and discover just what really happened to Sebastian last summer.

The talented Joseph L. Mankiewicz is the man behind the camera. He makes it a daring movie that isn’t scared to get close to taboo subject matter and high drama of a high factor. And on a stylistic level, the production design and cinematography conjure up the unusualness of this most startling tale, with many scenes tension filled and like something shocking is about to be revealed. Now I do believe that some of the subject matter covered is more alluded to than shown, probably because of the threat of censorship back in the day. But the issues that it mentions and hints at are there for us all to glean and be shocked by, which for me says that the movie still packs a punch. This is especially true in the emotions stakes, which is something that Tennessee Williams and his work often have. The stories are heated and button pushing with everything coming out in turns of torrid feeling. The Southern Gothic atmosphere and building tension are grand assets for Suddenly, Last Summer and ones it employs to bring out the melodrama of the piece to the highest order. The script isn’t afraid to push the boundaries of the time by focusing on latent homosexuality and attitudes towards mental health, ensuring that even a movie from the 50’s could tackle subjects(although a little watered down due to the powers that be) with dramatic prowess. Due to this we get some amazing monologues from characters, in particular Catherine as she has to dig into her subconscious and remember the shattering events of last summer. A flaw can be that the stage origins of the piece start to show in many instances. Yet the material and acting make up for that hiccup of not being expansive enough. And the mystery of what happened to Sebastian and whether or not Catherine will be able to put it together are brought out with the brass heavy and often very sinister score.

All the actors present get in touch with the overheated and highly dramatic stylings of the script, especially Taylor and Hepburn. Elizabeth Taylor is excellent as the traumatised and haunted Catherine, who is emotionally disturbed by the events of last summer. Taylor gets to be terrified and fearful of her own memory here, clearly tapping into the shock and horror of what the character has witnessed and just how much it has caused her to block out what really happened to her cousin. Catherine clearly knows something but it has been blocked out by her trauma. She’s many things from scared to often sensual to lucid and determined to uncover what’s being concealed. A lot is conveyed through darting eyes and body language to suggest the turmoil and terror Catherine feels, especially and most effectively in the stages in which everything comes out in the open. It’s a fine performance of shock, vulnerability, uncertainty and numerous angles from Taylor who really displays her sometimes overlooked talent here. Also fabulous is Katharine Hepburn’s sly and cracked Aunt. Hepburn’s marvellous voice and mannerisms are put to good use here; she’s like a broken piece of glass with her tremulous and fidgety switches in mood and behaviour. Aunt Violet is also very witty and acerbic, finding another side to a woman who is broken by her son’s death but intent on keeping what happened under wraps. The great Katharine Hepburn is another great entry to Suddenly, Last Summer’s strong acting bow. Montgomery Clift is the most subdued member of the cast but his sensitive doctor is still acted well. He is required to be the ears to both women’s stories and make up his own mind on what is the truth of the matter at hand. His role is not the most showy but it serves its purpose in a manner befitting the story.

A deliriously eye-opening slice of melodrama and Southern Gothic atmosphere, Suddenly, Last Summer is a very good adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play with grand acting and mystery.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Tags

1960's, Drama, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal, Mike Nichols, Psychological Drama, Richard Burton, Sandy Dennis, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Film Title

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Director

Mike Nichols

Cast

• Elizabeth Taylor as Martha
• Richard Burton as George
• George Segal as Nick
• Sandy Dennis as Honey

One of the most emotionally fraught, honest and unremittingly uncomfortable looks at marital dysfunction ever to appear on the screen, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? still has the power to pack a punch with its acerbic dialogue and committed performances. If you’re looking for a successful translation of a famous play to the screen, then look no further than this drama.

Martha and George, a college history professor and his wife return home in the early hours of the morning. There marriage is by turns loving and savagely cruel. Martha, who drinks too much and roars like a harpy constantly berates George about everything, while George is equally adept at playing these childlike games with her. Martha announces that she has invited a biology teacher and his wife over for a nightcap. It is here that all the venom within each of them begins to surface. When Nick, the handsome teacher and his meek wife Honey arrive at the house, Martha and George immediately launch into one of their many games, that eerily mirrors their troubled marriage. Soon, the young and seemingly innocent couple are drawn into this verbal war zone, and as the drinks continue to pour and as the early hours wear on, the vicious words and psychological abuse take full effect on all of them. Secrets are unearthed and grievances aired as the young couple watch the effects of a damaging marriage, while showing that there’s isn’t exactly on solid ground either. As an audience, you will be paralysed with shock at the violent effects of words and the volatile relationship of the central couple. But, don’t let the grim premise put you off, because if you do you will miss the talented Mike Nichols crafting a startling and full-blooded vision of marital confusion that will never be forgotten once it has been.

The use of black and white in the film exceptionally conveys the stark situations that the characters are stuck in. The editing style, mainly close-up’s and cuts to long shots help back up the verbal volleys that the feuding couple inflict on each other throughout the film. Above all, it is the acting the lingers longest in the memory. Elizabeth Taylor sheds her glamorous image to deliver an electrifying Oscar-winning performance as the monstrous and abusive Martha. But instead of creating an evil caricature, she imbues the character with a strange sort of sympathy and sadness that makes us realise the internal anger and pain that lie inside of her. Equally matching her is Richard Burton’s portrayal of the weary George, who although he tolerates Martha’s abuse, the audience comes to see that he is the one who has the upper hand as the games get evermore personal. Sterling support is added by George Segal and especially Oscar winner Sandy Dennis, who gives a performance full of neurotic tics that reveal her uncomfortable feelings with the situation unfolding before her eyes. The script is one of the most scathing , honest and corrosive things I think I’ve ever heard, the cast delivers the lacerating words with conviction, emotion and above all, power. One needs to remember how controversial the film was upon release, mainly because of the language used. And even though the years may have lessened some of the impact, the bruising words still have a raw and intense power that is hard to escape.

Mike Nichols delivered an auspicious debut with this film that surely ranks as one of his best, along with The Graduate. If you can handle the arguing and emotional impact of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, then I advise you to see it as it is uncomfortable and unflinching in its view of a broken marriage, but rewarding because of the excellent performances captured.