Kent and I often talk about films that could potentially be made on a smaller budget, and theoretically on the surface this could be one of them. It could be, because there are only four primary roles (and, in a departure from the play, two small walk-ons), and five locations: Inside the house, outside the house, inside the bar, outside the bar, and inside the car. The main costs of this project would be exposed film and actor's salaries.
Then you read that Nichols took five months to film this. It's hard enough living in their house for one 2-hour night, but can you imagine living in it for five months? Did they do operatic voice exercises to keep their throats from being ripped bare by the high-pressure sound waves of the insults?
So, no. Deceptively expensive, this film. It lives and dies by acting, and Taylor is truly astonishing. Renée Zellweger might get industry nods for gaining 30 pounds to play Bridget Jones, but Taylor's 30 pound gain for this role is much more metamorphic. Certainly very little sign of Gloria Wandrous and Cleopatra in our vile, drunken Martha. But she's not all vile, we learn--Taylor plays her heart on her sleeve, albeit partially obscured by liquor. She never loses her venom and wit, delivering lines with easily readable body language. She weaves and wobbles her body through the psychodrama, but she moves from angry to vulnerable to sweet and back again with no indication that she's reaching for a feeling at any time. She fully inhabits the role.
Which lead to a conversation around our house about great actresses who are crazy. Taylor, for somebody who is young enough to have only seen her modern persona, seems like a has-been. But, when you see these great performances--the ones that defined her career, you understand why people still love her. She's magnificent. There are other actresses that are older, Liza Minelli comes to mind, who are the same--really gifted actresses (although I'd take a Taylor over a Minelli in a talent blow-by-blow) who are kinda nuts in their real life. The question became: are there any modern actresses like this? For actors we have Billy Bob, and even Robert Downey Jr., but do we have any modern actresses that inhabit both of those traits? Is it a sign of the times, or being raised in show business?
Sure, there are plenty of crazy actresses, and plenty of great actresses, but I think we need a list of those that touch both camps. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments.
The next time somebody is over and asks to powder her nose, I'm surely going to retort: "Martha, will you show her where we keep the, uh, euphemism?"
Where we saw it: DVD | We deign to rate it: 87 outta 100