With a movie tagline that states..."Shame Shame, everybody knows your name." Darling delivers the shallow goods. Last night after happy hour with the girls, I watched the longest movie ever made. Maybe it isn't the longest but boy it sure felt like I lived through the entire 60's. Julie Christie is great as the amoral social climber who sleeps her way to the top. She is the superficial fashion model who is bored with everything and everyone- creating a nice "cold little film". There is the best classic line in the first half hour when Julie Christie (plays Diane) says:
"It should be so easy to be happy, shouldn't it? Should be the easiest thing in the world- I wonder why it isn't? Maybe it is"
Although it has all the components of a great movie of the week- this movie has no real revelation. It did get Christie the oscar that year. She even beat out Julie Andrews for the Sound of Music! Christie does have a pretty brilliant performance as the tragic heroine. She is so selfish and dense that no life lessons are drawn. It's nice to see a movie portraying a woman with such a strong desire to get ahead that she abandons men with the blink of an eye. This carefree hedonism is shown in various scenes involving sexuality, homosexuality, age difference, infidelity, betrayal, pregnancy and abortion. To my surprise at one point, the pouty beauty rips off her clothes while walking from room to room eventually ending up naked in her Italian palace.
Dirk Bogarde (from the Servant-) plays her second lover- with the best scene where he shouts at her about her infidelities. As they are walking down the street- (she thinking she has pulled one over on him) she wonders why he won't just get a taxi...he says "I don't get into taxi cabs with whores." Their argument is very modern- and emotional. Laurence Harvery (Domino was his daughter) plays the emotionally impotent lover who collects women like trophies for his shelf. He takes her to a great swinging 60's party scene that makes the movie if you ask me. - The party is sexy and creepy and spinning the audience around and around on an ectasy high.
I found it interesting that near the end of the film she has moved up the shallow ladder so high that she becomes the English Princess married to an Italian Prince...making her name "Princess Di" with the unhappy younger woman married to an older man reference. Odd & tragic
I guess in real life Julie Christie dated my man Terrence STamp from the Collector. They dated in the mid 60's and their romance inspired the KINKS song...'Waterloo Sunset'.
I liked the film- it was slow moving- but had some memorable 60's scenes- definitely worth watching again for the hot Italian waiter she and her gay male friend seduce together. Seeing him in a.) his sailor top and white pants on the scooter B.) in his speedo trunks at the beach---
BELLISIMO
haha- I actually own this movie. It is pretty slow. I was surprised when I watched it how little I liked it and that she won an Oscar for it- musta been a slow year.
Posted by: orchide | March 24, 2006 at 02:59 PM