A disclaimer: perhaps I lack the historical context to appreciate this movie's boldnesses, and perhaps I have a prejudice against Italian films -- I've seen very few that I like, and usually find them pretentious, obscure, and far inferior to, say, the French or Scandinavian cinema.
But that aside, I thought this movie was really quite lousy. This movie's supposed insights into the dialogue of the sexes (and the classes) are hardly deeper than your average cartoon -- and, as the movie progresses, rapidly become far more offensive: while I don't have any trouble with the considerable sexual content per se, I find the treatment of rape and violence to be unpleasant at best. If the script were better and the leads weren't two-dimensional archetypes, it might be a bit more convincing, but instead we get something that's scarcely any more rewarding or thoughtful than soft-core pornography. In fairness, I must admire Wertmuller's bravado, and the last 15 minutes or so are actually pretty good. There are also a few moments of genuine pathos, comedy, and erotic tension. But on the whole, the movie just leaves me feeling a little bit dirty and disgusted...and watching it with my girlfriend -- who was, in fact, physically abused by a previous boyfriend -- left me all the more aware of its unpleasantness. Maltin's four-star review in his movie guide is way, way overkill; I might give it two for ambition, but really, it barely merits one-and-a-half.
But that aside, I thought this movie was really quite lousy. This movie's supposed insights into the dialogue of the sexes (and the classes) are hardly deeper than your average cartoon -- and, as the movie progresses, rapidly become far more offensive: while I don't have any trouble with the considerable sexual content per se, I find the treatment of rape and violence to be unpleasant at best. If the script were better and the leads weren't two-dimensional archetypes, it might be a bit more convincing, but instead we get something that's scarcely any more rewarding or thoughtful than soft-core pornography. In fairness, I must admire Wertmuller's bravado, and the last 15 minutes or so are actually pretty good. There are also a few moments of genuine pathos, comedy, and erotic tension. But on the whole, the movie just leaves me feeling a little bit dirty and disgusted...and watching it with my girlfriend -- who was, in fact, physically abused by a previous boyfriend -- left me all the more aware of its unpleasantness. Maltin's four-star review in his movie guide is way, way overkill; I might give it two for ambition, but really, it barely merits one-and-a-half.