Death and the Maiden
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Movie Reviews of Death and the Maiden
Movie Review: I'll Put My Money On The Maiden
Summary: 5 Stars
Death And The Maiden is an overlooked masterpiece and it's not hard to understand why. First is the dark, serious, and intellectually challenging subject matter which prompts viewers to consider important questions that may ultimately have no satisfactory answers at all. Second is the format itself. Death And The Maiden was originally a play, and it shows. Three characters, frozen in an unholy dynamic, confront their various demons in a small, remote house. Interaction between them is talky and claustrophobic; the lack of distraction is part of the point. (Viewers who rely on flaming helicopters, silicon-injected bosoms spilling from bikinis, or artificially sweet deus ex machina happy endings, are advised to look elsewhere.)
Third, of course, is the baggage carried by its director, Roman Polanski. Had Death And The Maiden been made by someone else it would almost certainly have secured at least one Oscar nomination, if not for Ben Kingsley, surely for Sigourney Weaver. I will not defend Polanski, indeed, it is highly ironic that a film that deals so brilliantly with the idea of torture, specifically rape as a torture technique, would be the product of a man convicted of raping a 13-year old girl. Those quick to condemn Polanski conveniently forget that he has demons of his own, having endured the slaughter of his wife, Sharon Tate, and unborn child, at the hands of the Manson family. This provides context only, not an excuse. It is also quickly forgotten that Polanski's talent puts him in the category with Kubrick; Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, Death And The Maiden, and The Pianist all bear witness to his incredible gifts.
Amazingly enough, the film's plot is incredibly simple. Either Kingsley's Dr. Miranda is the man who brutally tortured Weaver's Paulina Escobar or he isn't, by the film's end you know. Arriving at the truth requires stripping away layer after layer of protective veneer, a raw, spellbinding struggle. Both Weaver and Kingsley are at the top of their game and the chemistry between them is electrifying. Paulina's husband, played by Stuart Wilson, is the everyman, he is us, we feel his sympathies wavering as he wonders whether his wife is insane or correct. Weaver is not a sympathetic victim - her Paulina is unhinged, cruel, shrill, and unreasonable. (Then again, if she's right, wouldn't this be appropriate?) Kingsley's Dr. Miranda, by contrast, is hardly our picture of a torturer. He is intelligent, soft-spoken, affable, charming at times, and almost disarmingly reasonable; the scenes where he is drinking with the husband and "bonding," talking about how difficult women can be, are chilling.
The engine driving this film is our desire to know if Dr. Miranda is guilty - but that is not really the point. The payload here is the moral price of this most savage and brutal of all human power relationships, the toll it takes, and the correct response. Weaver's performance is so well shaped that we see the damage, we see how brittle she is, and we cheer her rage, a dark part of us would help her pull the trigger. That's why this is such a great movie, we see that part of ourselves, then we question it. Would it be just? Would it even help anything? What if she's wrong? What if she's right, but Dr. Miranda is now a reformed man who feels profound shame about what he did? Does that matter? Assuming Dr. Miranda is guilty, was he pushed to these hideous extremes by devotion to some higher goal, which justified them in his mind? Is this ever excusable? (Would we torture a terrorist to extract information that might save thousands?)
Don't think that this movie is like a philosophy class, it isn't, it offers a kind of hypnotic entertainment that will galvanize you. As you become absorbed by this haunting, tiny drama, you and your own conceptions of morality will become another character in it. Death And The Maiden is a film for adults; a real keeper.
Movie Review: Polanski's Penance?
Summary: 5 Stars
It's more than a bit ironic to note that Death and the Maiden, arguably the most compassionately told film dealing with the long-term psychological effects of rape since Ida Lupino's Outrage in 1950, is directed by Roman Polanski, himself a confessed rapist. Is this movie, made almost two decades after his fleeing America to avoid prosecution, meant to be some sort of an attempt at penance? Regardless of it's intent, the resulting film is clearly Polanski's most personal to date (at least until 2002's The Pianist), and a return to form after a long stretch of sketchy output.
Having helped to shape some of the best female performances of the last half century (Catherine Deneuve in Repulsion and Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby to name a few), Polanski continues to cement his reputation as an actor's director, this time showcasing Sigourney Weaver (who's ever been a stronger screen presence than she is here). An actor of remarkable versatility, she's finally given a role that's both deserving of her talents and doesn't include aliens. And unlike her previous career-high (Gorillas in the Mist), she's allowed to fully embody the character without the disadvantage of having a director and a script that condescends to her.
Starring as Paulina Escobar, a former member of a leftist resistance group in an unnamed South American country, the film finds her married to an inept, idealistic lawyer (Stuart Wilson) who has only a vague understanding of the skeletons in her closet. That is until one night when, waiting for him to return from a meeting with the newly appointed President, he's dropped off by a stranger who's voice sounds eerily familiar. He explains to her that he'd had a flat tire and man had given him a lift home, so she seems to drop it. They quarrel briefly, make love, then are interrupted in the middle of the night by a knock at the door.
It's the stranger (Ben Kingsley, playing to or against type, depending on who you believe) come to drop off a new tire, an act of curious generosity given that the two men barely know eachother. After a few awkward moments, he's invited in for a nightcap and begins asking oddly probing questions. It turns out that Gerardo (Wilson) is heading the prosecution of those guilty of torture under the previous regime and is anxious for a sympathetic ear. That's just what Dr. Miranda (Kingsley) offers him, and it's during this Q and A session that Paulina begins to suspect that she may have finally found her tormentor.
What ensues from there is a psychological game of cat and mouse that's as tense as anything Polanski's ever done, as Paulina bounds and gags the doctor while attempting to coax a confession from him, though his guilt or innocence is left unresolved until the bitter end. It's here that the casting proves so vital. After all, can the man who played Gandhi really be guilty of such insidious crimes? I won't give away the ending, but rest assured it's one not soon to be forgotten, and allows Kingsley one of the best scenes of his career.
All three actors have great moments for that matter. A favorite of mine is when Kingsley, begging to be freed from his bounds after briefly incompasitating Paulina, says to Gerardo, "You did nothing. You just stood there." And Weaver responds, "Of course he just stood there. He's the law." It's these small, seemingly insignificant scenes that reveal the film's subtle nuances and make it a must-see.
Movie Review: Sad and serious and ultimately meaningful on many levels
Summary: 5 Stars
This 1994 film was adapted from a play by Argentinean playwright Ariel Dorfman and was directed by Roman Polanski. Set in an unnamed South American country, three people are thrown together in an isolated house on a dark and stormy night. The woman, played by Sigourney Weaver is clearly troubled and sad. Her husband, played by Stuart Wilson, is late for dinner. Turns out he had a flat tire and a stranger helped him out. That stranger, who is a doctor, played by Ben Kingsley, soon befriends the husband. The woman thinks the stranger is the man who tortured her while she was a political prisoner many years before.
There is a new kinder and gentler government now, which is investigating atrocities from the past. The woman's husband is in charge of the investigation, which is basically focused on identifying bodies and is giving amnesty to many of the worst criminals. Naturally this complicates the situation.
What follows is not a simple story though because, throughout, questions are raised that have no easy answers. Is the doctor really the torturer or an innocent man? After all, it all happened at least ten or more years in the past and the woman has never actually seen her torturer's face as she had been blindfolded the whole time. The doctor declares his innocence. At times, he's even charming. But she has tied him up and is determined to get a confession out of him.
There are many interwoven themes. The basic one is wondering if the doctor is, indeed, the right man. But then there is the relationship between the husband and the wife. We discover he and his wife were both members of the revolution but only she was caught and tortured. He has been trying to make that up to her for their whole marriage. We also get to hear a lot about the details of the torture. It is chilling and disturbing and, even though the only violence in the film is against the suspect who is tied up, the woman's prison experience, which is only talked about and not shown, is excruciatingly painful to hear about.
There are other questions raised too. What happens to a society when it gives someone power over a helpless person? Now, we see the woman with power over the tied-up doctor. And we are forced to think about how this kind of power corrupts a whole society. This is a concept that is universal, as fresh today as it has always been. And the director certainly knows how to bring it out. All of the actors were sensational. I soon forgot they were performing and was completely swept into the story. I could feel the pain of all three characters as well as the horror of the electric shocks of the past.
The title comes from a string quartet by Franz Schubert called Death and the Maiden. This piece of music had been played during the woman's torture. She has found a tape of it in the doctor's car and plays it throughout. It helps to frame the action, right down to the film's excellent and satisfying conclusion.
I was surprised to discover that this film had won no significant awards and got little recognition when it was released. It wasn't even given a high rating from the critics. That's too bad. I think that it is an important film. I'm glad I discovered it though. It's sad and serious and ultimately meaningful on many levels. And I give it my very highest recommendation.
Movie Review: gifted performers display exceptional skill
Summary: 5 Stars
Three exceptionally skilled actors present a tense, critical and negative experience. Sigourney Weaver is a housewife shattered by repeated violence. Stuart Wilson is a rare "good guy" attorney/politician who doesn't understand that there are many shades to truth and justice. Ben Kingsley is a doctor who thinks that educated people can't possibly be evil, until he is tempted do be so. Paulina Lorca is a "supportive" politician's wife. She has met her future husband when they work for an underground South American liberation group. Gerardo is impressed with her resilence and determination. But, when she is kidnapped by the militia, his psychological and emotional stamina is tested beyond his endurance. After only two months, he comes to believe that she is dead. When she escapes and returns to him, he is already involved with another woman. They reunite anyway, but both her experiences in captivity and his "infidelity" taint their marriage. Little things remind her of the assaults she experienced. Years later, Gerardo is offered the politically charged post of chairman of the justice commission overseeing the tracking and trying the war crimes of this militia. She doesn't understand the compromises in politics and he doesn't understand the violence of her experience. All of this is brought to a head one very rainy night when Gerardo's car has a flat and he is aided by a native of the country. The native is the doctor who years earlier gave her medical care during her captivity. His kindness isn't nearly as caring as he would like it remembered. Gerardo invites his rescuer in for a drink on such a horrible night. From the bedroom, Paulina recognizes the guest's voice. When she runs away from home using the good doctor's car, Gerardo is embarrassed and offers their couch as a bed. He retires for the night. She returns and checks the doctor out up close. When she remembers his body smell, things get really tense. After tying the doctor up, she has a little conversation with him and this causes Gerardo to wake and investigate. After that, it is a three way battle to win trust and expose reality. In the end, no one is arrested, but justice is served. Only three people with the backgrounds that these actors have could carry off this type of project. There isn't any supporting cast to take the pressure off of them. Very few people know of Stuart Wilson because he doesn't do publicity. But, he is such a gem. Ben Kingsley isn't at all like his godly Ghandi. Sigourney Weaver isn't carrying around flame throwing/granade launching/bullet pumping fire arms. The bad guys don't bleed acid for blood. Her ability to be tough and vulnerable are balanced in this role.Movie Review: Really Good
Summary: 5 Stars
Roman Polanski's "Death and the Maiden," has a main a plot point that would cause most films to fail. A character is confronted with something; They claim they're innocent and the rest of the movie deals with deciding whether they are or they aren't. Usually, if they are guilty...It's not a big surprise. If they're innocent, there was no point in the movie at all. Despite this, this movie works perfectly...With much credit due to the three actors who carrey the movie. Sigourney Weaver ('Galaxy Quest'), Ben Kingsley ('Sexy Beast'), and Stuart Wilson are the actors who are onscreen for 99% of the movie and this movie is powerful and entertaining. Weaver plays Paulina Escobar, a woman who's somewhere in South America in a small shack waiting for her husband to return. On the radio she hears that her husband has just been elected to a committee run by the president of South America. She apparently disapproves. Her husband soon gets home, but minus his car; He had a blowout miles away and a man has given him a ride. After the husband Geraldo (Wilson) and Paulina chat for a bit, she goes to bed. Then the man that gave Geraldo the ride suddenly reappears. The man introduces himself as Dr. Roberto Miranda (Kingsley) and proclaims himself a big fan of Geraldo's. As the two men have a drink and talk in the living room, we see Paulina in the bedroom getting agitated. Eventually, she sneaks out of the house and steals Dr. Miranda's car. Not worrying about it, Geraldo and Dr. Miranda both go to sleep; But Paulina soon returns and ties Miranda to a chair. 15 years ago Paulina was raped, kidnapped, and tortured by a man that she claims is Miranda. She was blindfolded, so all she bases this on is his voice. Her husband doesn't immediately believe her, and really, neither does the audience. It's clear the woman is a bit off. But unlike most movies like this, we actually can't decide if the doctor is guilty or not guilty. I admire the film's ending for not throwing in some heroic cliches. Anyway, Polanski is really good at pacing. Because almost this entire movie is pacing. But, in the end "Death and the Maiden" is suspenseful, well-directed, and completely well acted. A fantastic movie.
GRADE: A-