Matt's Big Oscar Challenge 203: So Good They Named Her Twice

It's no secret that I haven't particularly enjoyed the last couple of films that I've watched as part of this quest, mainly due to the fact that they've been all-action war films. So, for my next choice, I've decided to watch something with less guns and more character. The film I'm talking about is Rachel, Rachel, the directorial debut of Paul Newman, which also starred his wife Joanne Woodward as the film's titular heroine. I say heroine, but Rachel is much more of an ordinary woman who most would describe as a bit of a wallflower. Rachel has lived in the same house all her life, while she is now teaching to the same school she attended. While her siblings have all moved on, she has been left behind to care for their widowed mother. Rachel doesn't like to socialise with anyone and the closest relationship she has is with fellow teacher Calla. However, after the two attend a revival meeting together, Calla reveals that she is in love with Rachel and clumsily makes a move on her. After rebuffing her friend's advances, Rachel meets an old acquaintance in the form of the charming Nick Kazlik. Nick attempts to secure a date with Rachel, but once again she tries to blow him off. Eventually he wears her down and Rachel has her first sexual experience with him. She immediately plans a future for herself and Nick, but when he reveals he was only looking for something physical Rachel is distraught. Her pain worsens when she realises she might be pregnant, and resolves to move away in order to raise her child in a more comfortable environment.

Released in 1968, Rachel, Rachel is definitely one of the new breed of films which shy away from convention. Throughout the film, Newman visualises Rachel's fantasises and flashbacks, as she imagines several scenarios that never occur. In addition we hear her inner-monologue a lot of the time, which I felt became annoying towards the end. What I did like was the film's depiction of how small-town life can drag you down and how seeing the same faces every day can drive you insane. Rachel was an intriguing central character whose daydreams and flights of fancy were all in keeping with the dreary setting. One criticism I have of the film is that it seemed awfully episodic and I don't feel that the narrative flowed as much as it should've done. However, I would still recommend the film, mainly because of the brilliant central performance from Joanne Woodward. Woodward held my attention throughout the film and totally brought Rachel to life, perfecting every single little mannerism. I was shocked that Woodward didn't win the Best Actress Oscar but then saw that this way the year in which both Katharine Hepburn and Barbara Streisand won the award. Also worth a mention is Estelle Parsons as the closeted lesbian Calla, Parsons proves how great an actress she is as her performance here is a million miles away from her turn in Bonnie and Clyde. While I can't say Rachel, Rachel is perfect, it is a lovingly crafted film with a great central performance. I also enjoyed the fact that I didn't have to sit through endless scenes of gun battles and instead got to spend time with the characters, which I found to be a refreshing change.

Next time, though there won't be many battle scenes, I will be returning to a film set during wartime.

 

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 181: Rom-cons

I find the 1960s a really interesting period for cinema as it bridges the gap between the glossy product of the early years and the more experimental films from the years to come. A perfect example of this is Bonnie and Clyde a film that is shot a lot differently than many of the films I have watched up to this point and its levels of sex and violence mark it out from the safer movies at the time. The film itself concerns the formation of the Barrow gang led by Warren Beatty's forceful Clyde Barrow who hooks up with Faye Dunaway's Bonnie Parker while attempting to steal her mother's car. The two begin to rob banks and soon join forces with Clyde's brother Buck, his wife Blanche and local oaf CW Moss to become notorious throughout the country. The gang are beset by problems especially that Bonnie and Blanche just don't get on with each other while the quintet soon have an angry policeman on their hands after they embarrass Texas Ranger Frank Harmer. Eventually the gang make several mistakes which allows several of their number to be killed and the rest to hide out at the house of CW's father and while I won't spoil the ending I think most of us know how this story turned out. 

I was completely transfixed while watching Bonnie and Clyde from the opening bank robbery through to the bloody shoot-out and the final tragic scene everything about it felt new and fresh. Arthur Penn's directorial style owed a lot to the directors of the French New Wave with the camera angles focusing on the sexuality of both of the central characters. The key relationship is obviously that of Bonnie and Clyde and you can tell the two really do care about each other in between their bank robbing and killing sprees. The interesting thing about Bonnie and Clyde is that it makes a lot of the violence seem incredibly comic especially in the case of some of the music that is used while Gene Wilder's cameo is also an odd choice. Talking of Genes we had Mr Hackman here in his first notable role and as Buck he really is the brains of the Barrow family and even in his early days you could see that he would become a big star. In fact the acting in Bonnie and Clyde is great with all five central cast members getting Oscar nominations but the only win was for Estelle Parsons who played the cranky Blanche. Personally the best performance in the whole film comes from Michael J Pollard as the simple CW who really starts to idolise Clyde to the extent that he thinks he is invincible. That's not to put anything against Beatty or Dunaway who both became big name stars after this film and of course would go on to bigger and better things hereafter. With its breathtaking style and great performances it's not hard to see why Bonnie and Clyde was nominated for so many awards however in a year with so many great movies it only came away with two. However its legacy lives on today through the influential award-winning cinematography and through its comical presentation of violence.