So women…purely decorative? Apparently.
This is a rewatch since I haven’t seen it since it came out. Some things definitely don’t age as well but it was nice to see Pacino and De Niro be somewhat spry.
Their scene is still the highlight of the film. It just feels electric and they feel amused and alive while the rest of the film has that heavy Mann seriousness cast in blue light.
Interestingly prescient with her feminist ideology but it’s undercut by the times it was made in.
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Big lesson - believe women and men (and women), be better allies.
Beyond that basic fact, I love that the underlying tension of this movie is that the reason she cannot come forward is because all the authority figures (all men) will not believe her and would side with the husband by default. Perhaps she’s hysterical or insane. And somehow that is more plausible than the fact that the body count keeps increasing all in the vicinity of this one…
What a shame Jane Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck weren’t the main stars. Every time they’re on screen…vitality. Everytime anyone else is on screen…it’s a visual coma.
