• 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
  • Recommend/Highly Recommend border