Peppermint Friday Review #25: Suddenly Last Summer

This film is quite a serious one, as the story touches on some pretty hardcore issues and the acting talent is brilliant and an amazing story. Next week will have alot more structure to it, and it will be lighter and less serious, to balance it out a bit. 

This is the first time I'll be talking about Katharine Hepburn, which is much needed and the second time I'll be talking about a Tennessee Williams classic. The story is about Catherine Holly played by Elizabeth Taylor she has had a mental breakdown and was sent to an institution due to her cousin Sebastian who died under mysterious circumstances whilst on holiday. Sebastian's rich mother Violet Venable played by Katharine Hepburn denies her son's truth over what happened, and tries to bribe by getting them a new wing for the hospital. Dr Lawrence J Hockstader and Dr John Cukrowicz both played by Albert Dekker and Montgomery Clift to perform a lobotomy to Catherine.

There's a million and one things that happen in this story that just so juicy, but that would be ruining such a brilliant story and I can't do that to you guys. First of all this story is quite an adult based one as its very dark and deals with some quite serious issues. Elizabeth Taylor's acting performance in this is just beautiful, she delivers a woman who is struggling with the terms of her cousin's death, going through a mental breakdown and having her Aunt want her to have a lobotomy thinking that will make things better. 

Katharine Hepburn is fantastic, although it is slightly predictable as thats the kinda character she usually plays, the sharp tongued, outspoken sometimes bitter woman. She did do a very good job, despite thats the role she usually plays but that can't be helped. I've always been a big fan of Katharine Hepburn's voice and backstory in particular as she is very intriguing she came from a political family with a suffragette mother and her brother committed suicide when she was only 10, it had a real affect on her growing up into the woman she is. I find her quite sharp voice very interesting and brilliant to listen to as there wasn''t that many Actresses at that time who had that sort of voice. 

Montgomery Clift was brilliant at conjuring what happened, he was the audience in the story if you will, he was asking all the questions that we as the audience were asking as to what was going on, and what happen to Sebastian. This was during Montgomery's later career, when he was even more moodier and sensitive, Albert Dekker was brilliant even though I haven't seen him in that many things he was very good. Montgomery's facial expressions were just brilliant he delivers the words so perfectly its just off the cuff and no second thoughts about it they were said they way they needed to be said. 

The costumes of the film were brilliant if a little boring, but then again the costumes for a film like this shouldn't be stylish but Elizabeth Taylor's swimsuit was beautiful, and her dress it fitted with her character so well, as did Katharine Hepburn's it was stylish for the elderly and that sounds like a backhanded compliment, but I didn't mean it that way, if I dressed the way Katharine Hepburn dresses in this film when I'm that age I'll be a very happy girl. Although her hair has alot to be desired, but each to their own. 

I love the dynamic between Catherine and Violet as they are so unique characters in their own right. Catherine is so vulnerable and Violet is very hard faced and a part of me wants to say she's conservative, if thats how you describe someone. The differences between them as actresses is amazing, you already have the age difference and different styles of acting overall they both act upon instinct, but Katharine Hepburn has had a much more formal training that Elizabeth as she's been doing it since she was a little girl.

I just want to reiterate how impressed I was with Elizabeth's performance she was going through a really tough time in real life. Her husband Mike Todd had just died in an airplane accident, and she cleverly used her real life situation while explaining what happened last summer with Sebastian, Catherine's cousin. When she was telling Dr John Cukrowicz about what Sebastian did to her on the beach and what he made her wear last summer, it was just one of the most emotional pieces of dialogue and acting I ever saw. In her performance I could feel all her emotions and I just got her, and it was brilliant.

                                                                

This story is amazing and it is hard to get into at first as I can agree its not the easiest film to watch. But when you get into it and you will, you won't regret it It is quite an adult film in terms of themes but its amazing with brilliant actors and the brilliant dialogue. I will talk to you all later and have a lovely weekend. 

Peppermint Friday Film Review #9: Lolita

I watched this film last night just after I did the post of 'Kubrick Vs Hitchcock' and I knew this film, and of the book. Plus I knew it would be easy to do a review of a Kubrick film that I've seen countless times. As this is a film that's still fresh to me, I thought it be nice.

Everyone knows the story of Lolita, its about a man called Humbert who needs a place to stay, so he becomes a lodger for this woman called Charlotte, she has a daughter called Lolita. Soon over time Humbert becomes infatuated with her, he then marries Charlotte problem being that Humbert is in his 40s and Lolita is a teenager. We all know the story, and its one of Kubrick's most memorable films. 

This film is something, its incredibly done for what it is as the story in itself is not exactly easy to film and create because the book is very graphic. I loved the film as it was done because it was made with such charm, and that sounds weird but I enjoyed it because it's so unlike any film I had ever seen before. I loved Peter Sellers in this film, as he was brilliant in it I loved it when he started talking to Lolita about the facts of life, it was just so creepy, and amazing. This film makes you feel like its creepy and weird, and thats good but also it makes you feel that its normal. One of the scenes that freaked me out was when Lolita was hula-hooping in the garden, and Humbert just sat there watching her. 

I gotta admit this film does go on not that, thats a bad thing its just very thick and dense. I mean lets face it theres not happy smiley songs and dance in this film is there? its very serious and intense which is good, because with a story like this you can't make it fun, you can try but that would hard. I also love both Sue Lyon who plays Lolita, who I'd like to point out was 14 at the time of filming this and Jason Mason who plays Humbert they did the job of the characters and the book wonderfully. I know that the Kubrick film version is different from the book, but the characters are still there. 

There are two versions of this story, the 1997 version which is more accurate to the book and obviously this version the 1962 which is based of the book but it has the Kubrick element to it. I love the fact that its in Black and White and I know films back then were mainly in Black and White, but there were loads of films in colour and it wasn't exactly weird. I loved the Black and White colour to it because for me it makes everyone neutral. Not saying everyone's innocent just feel that everything is neutral, its muted and I feel its free but intense at the same time. I feel this film is something you need to watch regardless of what you think of the story or the characters but, you will not forgot this film that does sound very corny but there honestly isn't really a film like it.