Opera singer Caterina Silveri's (Jill Clayburgh) husband dies in a car accident. She moves to Italy with her 15 year old son Joe (played by 17 year old Matthew Barry) to revive her career. She, not on purpose, begins to neglect Joe and he starts shooting up heroin. She finds out and doesn't know what to do. She ends up sleeping with him to get him off drugs! There's a LOT more to it than that but I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone.
First off--the incest. It's hardly in the movie at all. It's not even the main plot--it's a sub plot! There are only two scenes and neither of them contain nudity or are explicit. Also Clayburgh and Barry don't even remotely resemble each other so it isn't that disturbing. The real plot deals with Joe feeling out of place and not knowing why and his mother dealing with her husband's death, starting her career AND her teenage son's addiction. The two actors work wonderfully together and make their mother/son relationship look realistic. The most shocking moment here is when they physically attack each other. The fight is obviously staged (you see Barry purposely missing Calyburgh when he tries to punch her) but the acting is good and the dialogue harsh. It's beautifully directed by Bertolucci with incredible settings and a stunning performance by Clayburgh. Still it's not a great movie. It goes on far too long (it's 150 minutes), Barry's obnoxious behavior got on my nerves quickly and it gets dull. Still it is beautifully done and worth watching for Clayburgh and Bertolucci's direction.
A bomb when it came out (because they kept pushing the incest plot) but worthy of some respect.
First off--the incest. It's hardly in the movie at all. It's not even the main plot--it's a sub plot! There are only two scenes and neither of them contain nudity or are explicit. Also Clayburgh and Barry don't even remotely resemble each other so it isn't that disturbing. The real plot deals with Joe feeling out of place and not knowing why and his mother dealing with her husband's death, starting her career AND her teenage son's addiction. The two actors work wonderfully together and make their mother/son relationship look realistic. The most shocking moment here is when they physically attack each other. The fight is obviously staged (you see Barry purposely missing Calyburgh when he tries to punch her) but the acting is good and the dialogue harsh. It's beautifully directed by Bertolucci with incredible settings and a stunning performance by Clayburgh. Still it's not a great movie. It goes on far too long (it's 150 minutes), Barry's obnoxious behavior got on my nerves quickly and it gets dull. Still it is beautifully done and worth watching for Clayburgh and Bertolucci's direction.
A bomb when it came out (because they kept pushing the incest plot) but worthy of some respect.