Obscurity factor: 9 (available on DVD and YouTube, largely forgotten)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Elizabeth Taylor in The Driver's Seat (1974)
One of Brini's friends on Facebook reminded me of this film after seeing the post about yesterday's film X, Y & Zee. In this movie she plays Lise, a disturbed, middle aged woman who takes a vacation to Rome in search of a man. Not just any man, mind you, but a man who will help her achieve a goal. Along the way she meets an unusual cast of characters and gets tied up in a political assassination.
It's a dark film, and one that is little known today. It's also known as Identikit, the title it was released under in Europe. The splintered style of film making is well suited to the schizophrenic subject matter. Look for Ian Bannen, Mona Washburn and a cameo by Andy Warhol. It's available on DVD, and the entire film is available to watch on YouTube, though the uploader has disabled embedding. You can see it in this playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir0GWa5PU0g&playnext=1&list=PL1DA6971355933600. The poster above is available on MoviePosterShop.com.
Obscurity factor: 9 (available on DVD and YouTube, largely forgotten)
Obscurity factor: 9 (available on DVD and YouTube, largely forgotten)
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Very nervous about watching this one, for two reasons (and neither of them is Liz as Lise, an altogether fine idea). First, the novel is one of my favorite books, and I can imagine a great movie version signed by Antonioni, Resnais, Walter Salles, even De Palma, but Giuseppe Patroni Griffi? Second, well I can't say it, because it would be a spoiler, but the "goal" has always seemed to me a fascinating one as part of a journey, and it has been on my mind as a traveler in some off-the-beaten-track destinations. Now that it's on Youtube, I may give it a chance...
ReplyDeleteIt's worth a look. It's a very stylish film...
ReplyDeleteBetter than I expected. Not what I dreaded: I dreaded a cruel film, in a certain misogynistic fashion to be cruel best exemplified in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (a loathsome movie. People are upset if a horse gets killed for a movie, but what do they call what was done to Vivien Leigh in Roman Spring?). In the end, The Driver's Seat is almost what I hoped: something deep from Resnais or Antonioni. And there is even a touch of Godard somewhere, with the explosions and the unexplained civil unrest. Taylor is touching, at the very apex of her beauty, I'd say, not a doll any longer, not yet a scarecrow. No one could have been better. The last reels are really good. Thank you for dredging this one up.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you weren't disappointed by it. I found it to be bleak at times, but not unmoving. And you're right about her being at the peak of her beauty. She's a woman in this, not a girl.
ReplyDeleteThat playlist link didn't work.....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up. I'll change that link out...
ReplyDeleteThis is her most deeply strange movie--and that's saying a LOT. But it's hypnotic, whether you can take it seriously or not. I would have to agree she is quite beautiful here, though not photographed glamorously (lots of harsh side-lighting.) If you love Taylor in her Late Rococo period, this one's for you.
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