One of the films I chose to review for UK week was the 1964 British film "The Pumpkin Eater", directed by Jack Clayton. The film, starring Anne Bancroft, focuses on a woman named Jo who is reflecting on her life with her third husband and six children after she learns of her husbands infidelity. We follow her through random stories of her life with her third husband and the film ends with her decision of whether or not to stay with him.
While I thought the story was somewhat interesting, it wasn't particularly well executed. The story shifts from problem to problem quickly, with little flow. The viewers are given little background information on the main character; we are left to assume facts based on things said in passing. The film is very dialogue heavy and tended to be slow because of all the talking and little action.
The plot was the only thing I disliked about the film; the other elements were good. The acting was phenomenal. Bancroft effectively portrays a mentally unstable woman's roller coaster of emotions, proven by the fact she won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Chemistry between all the actors, especially the many children, was great and convincing.
The director provided a variety of angles and effects to shift into the next scene. When Bancroft's character Jo was feeling especially sad, reflective, or emotional, he would close up on her face, leaving nothing else in the shot. He also did this when other confronted her with criticism or an important issue, such as her husband and his infidelity claims or the woman in the salon who verbally attacks her.
Clayton also set up characters in interesting positions. One shot was a long vertical shot of Jo rummaging through the icebox while having a conversation with her friend sitting on top of it, another was Jo and her husband sitting on the couch, both their heads leaning back on the sofa, and a very low angle shot of Jo on the top of a windmill, looking out its window. All noteworthy shots that added to the aesthetic quality of "The Pumpkin Eaters".
The most memorable scene of the movie was the physical fight between Jo and her husband. Claytons technique somewhat reminded me of Hitchcock's thrillers: a slow paced movie until the end, when all the action occurs in less than 10 minutes. It didn't feel like you were watching the scene, you felt like you were part of the scene. The camera was shaking, the scene was spinning, and the cameras were directly in front of the actors, who were looking directly into them, which felt like you were either Jo or her husband. The technique was frantic but I could still see the emotions of the characters faces and clearly see both of them, regardless of the shaking. I really enjoyed it and appreciated the creativity.
Lastly, a prop that played an important role in the film was windows. Jo is often near a window or looking out of one and there are a few scenes where the children are playing outside in their large fields or she and her husband are talking walks with them. I think making a point of this shows how Jo feels trapped in her life and like something is missing; she has already been married three times and has six children. I think she is trying to produce something substantial in her life that will satisfy her, but nothing so far has done so. So she must look further, out windows and to open spaces, implying something more is out there. Overall, typical plot but execution was above average and worth a watch.
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