A very solid entry in the British social realism movement/wave of the late 50’s and early 60’s (Clayton’s own room at the top) and others from long distance runner and the entertainer
A well-deserved nomination for Anne Bancroft- her 2nd of 5 noms
Influenced by Antonioni’s trilogy (l’avventura, la notte, l’eclisse)- blue, moody and depressing for sure— it’s easy to ridicule for being self-serious in retrospect— but there’s worthy narrative and thematic material here (meditation on marriage, alienation and disconnect) and technical style achievement (though not on the level of Antonioni or like a Cassavetes who would go down this road as well)
Small role for Maggie Smith- great scene
Fascinating and technically difficult flashback—editing dissolve keeping her sad face going from transition
Freeze frame of holding hands holds over for flashback
Window boards breaking the two (Finch and Bancroft)— shot of Bancroft behind bars of the stair case
45 minutes in at the salon we have a Bergman framing two faces shot
Reoccurring close-ups rewards Bancrofts gift as an actor
James Mason shows up late- 55 minutes in- but it’s a key role and he’s excellent
Thematic formal rigor with the biggest betrayal being Finch getting another woman pregnant after she got fixed because of his urging
Does a reverse tracking shot in (not tracking reverse but film reverse speed) you can only tell by the cigarette if you look closely. It’s a great shot nonetheless
Lots of dissolve edits to lend to the mood/pace
Again, it’s complex thematically—it doesn’t simply treat her as the victim to a bastard of a husband (though Finch was a bastard)—she’s on her 3rd The obsession with having kids is never really fully explained
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