There's something quite spectacular about this film. It has incredible depth--like welcomed tangents, we are given the main story but then we are sometimes sent into the background to look at the world these people live in. We see a situation, and then go into someone's mind to see what memories this triggered. This movie creates an inner life for its main characters, so much so that I don't like to call them "characters," because they in themselves and their predicament are so real, it's frightening.
A synopsis for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" must be abstract. Two lonely people--a doctor and a young businesswoman--are each having an affair with a perhaps even lonelier person, a young artist. He moves between them gracefully. They both know of each other. Everyone's in on it, but no one's asking too many questions, for fear of the truth. The artist stays with the woman one weekend, and then dashes off to the doctor, leaving her heartbroken, and the doctor elated. Then he switches back, and the emotions switch. "I've had this business where anything's better than something," the woman says at one point. "But I have to believe at some point that nothing is better than anything." A tricky line--forgive me if I've paraphrased a bit--but it's the essence of the film.
Eventually, the artist will be leaving for America. He tells them both he won't be gone for long. But there is a hidden suggestion that he may never come back, and they will both be left with only themselves to console.
It really is a fantastic story, with some real truth in it. "I know, you're not getting enough from me," the artist, Bob, tells Alex, the woman of the love triangle. "But you're getting all there is." (Once again, paraphrasing?) But alas, who perhaps hasn't been in that situation, where you just want more from someone who has so little to give? This really strikes a chord.
The acting, of course, is fantastic. Peter Finch, ever the distinguished gentleman, is so much more than the clichéd "tortured homosexual" of early cinema, as Daniel, the doctor. It's an intriguing role, Oscar-worthy, in my opinion. How do you play such an established, supposedly secure, mature person caught up in an absolutely desperate affair? Whatever it takes, Finch nails it. His monologue at the very end of the movie is amazing. His swan song in this movie.
Glenda Jackson is unbelievable. I'd heard of her, but never seen any of her work. She has this fire in her eyes, this tension in her face. You're just waiting for her to explode like an Edward Albee woman. But she keeps it all in here, struggling to stay composed, except for one fantastic scene in the Park when the child is running after the dog. The rage and terror in her eyes is scary. And there is a beautiful scene, after Bob leaves her the first time, where she is sitting in the kitchen, eating fudge, reading, and trying so hard not to cry. It doesn't look a stitch like acting. Another Oscar-worthy performance. One of the last times we see her is when she is climbing the stairs to her apartment. Even from far away, watching her slowly, sadly return to her life, is so heartbreaking. Great stuff here.
Murray Head is so perfect as Bob. He plays the unaffected golden boy, the object of affection, so well here. He makes the audience love him and despise him and want more of him, just as he does with Daniel and Alex. I think Head gets overlooked a bit because of Finch and Jackson--no fault of anyone's, they are deservedly praised here--but he is equally as impressive, and utterly convincing.
The supporting cast, all in small but strong roles, is fantastic. Peggy Ashcroft does a lot with limited screen time as Alex's mother. She also has some wonderful lines about marriage and relationships in her one scene. Also fantastic are, I believe, Alex's sister and brother-in-law. The people she babysits for. So reminiscent of the progressive parents of today. And those children...what a wonderfully nightmarish brood. Particularly the oldest girl. An intriguing role, well-done.
I loved the use of the music from "Cosi Fan Tutti" and the running theme of telephones here, and seeing the inner workings of the telephone system. It said so much about these characters and everything they try to do to make a connection. There's so much I could say about this movie. But just see it. It's a modern classic, in my opinion, and strangely enough, holds up so very well today, over thirty years later. Heartbreak never gets old. Unfortunately.
A synopsis for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" must be abstract. Two lonely people--a doctor and a young businesswoman--are each having an affair with a perhaps even lonelier person, a young artist. He moves between them gracefully. They both know of each other. Everyone's in on it, but no one's asking too many questions, for fear of the truth. The artist stays with the woman one weekend, and then dashes off to the doctor, leaving her heartbroken, and the doctor elated. Then he switches back, and the emotions switch. "I've had this business where anything's better than something," the woman says at one point. "But I have to believe at some point that nothing is better than anything." A tricky line--forgive me if I've paraphrased a bit--but it's the essence of the film.
Eventually, the artist will be leaving for America. He tells them both he won't be gone for long. But there is a hidden suggestion that he may never come back, and they will both be left with only themselves to console.
It really is a fantastic story, with some real truth in it. "I know, you're not getting enough from me," the artist, Bob, tells Alex, the woman of the love triangle. "But you're getting all there is." (Once again, paraphrasing?) But alas, who perhaps hasn't been in that situation, where you just want more from someone who has so little to give? This really strikes a chord.
The acting, of course, is fantastic. Peter Finch, ever the distinguished gentleman, is so much more than the clichéd "tortured homosexual" of early cinema, as Daniel, the doctor. It's an intriguing role, Oscar-worthy, in my opinion. How do you play such an established, supposedly secure, mature person caught up in an absolutely desperate affair? Whatever it takes, Finch nails it. His monologue at the very end of the movie is amazing. His swan song in this movie.
Glenda Jackson is unbelievable. I'd heard of her, but never seen any of her work. She has this fire in her eyes, this tension in her face. You're just waiting for her to explode like an Edward Albee woman. But she keeps it all in here, struggling to stay composed, except for one fantastic scene in the Park when the child is running after the dog. The rage and terror in her eyes is scary. And there is a beautiful scene, after Bob leaves her the first time, where she is sitting in the kitchen, eating fudge, reading, and trying so hard not to cry. It doesn't look a stitch like acting. Another Oscar-worthy performance. One of the last times we see her is when she is climbing the stairs to her apartment. Even from far away, watching her slowly, sadly return to her life, is so heartbreaking. Great stuff here.
Murray Head is so perfect as Bob. He plays the unaffected golden boy, the object of affection, so well here. He makes the audience love him and despise him and want more of him, just as he does with Daniel and Alex. I think Head gets overlooked a bit because of Finch and Jackson--no fault of anyone's, they are deservedly praised here--but he is equally as impressive, and utterly convincing.
The supporting cast, all in small but strong roles, is fantastic. Peggy Ashcroft does a lot with limited screen time as Alex's mother. She also has some wonderful lines about marriage and relationships in her one scene. Also fantastic are, I believe, Alex's sister and brother-in-law. The people she babysits for. So reminiscent of the progressive parents of today. And those children...what a wonderfully nightmarish brood. Particularly the oldest girl. An intriguing role, well-done.
I loved the use of the music from "Cosi Fan Tutti" and the running theme of telephones here, and seeing the inner workings of the telephone system. It said so much about these characters and everything they try to do to make a connection. There's so much I could say about this movie. But just see it. It's a modern classic, in my opinion, and strangely enough, holds up so very well today, over thirty years later. Heartbreak never gets old. Unfortunately.