In 1966, Mike Nichols, in his directorial debut, joined together Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis in the film adaptation of the Edward Albee stage production of the same name. Two couples are brought together, one set with clear and obvious deep-seated issues, the other set with seemingly no problems in their relationship. Early one morning, the couples meet and many issues come to light and the four people realize there are more to each other than meets the eye. A deeply emotional, personally revealing film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf is a character-driven story charged with emotion and an incredible debut from the noted director, Mike Nichols.
Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) is the daughter of the President of a New Carthage university where her husband George (Richard Burton) is an associate professor. The couple has been married for quite some time, most of their years together seeming to be unhappy. By the time the audience meets them, it is revealed that they spend the majority of their nights engaging in drunken verbal assault against each other. Despite their marriage that seems to be based on convenience and career advancement for George, the audience can also sense there is a deep emotional dependence of each upon the other. At 2:00 in the morning, after a faculty mixer, Martha reveals that she has invited Nick (George Segal) a young charismatic biology professor, new to the university, and his wife Honey (Sandy Dennis) over to their home for drinks. As the evening wears on, and more drinks are poured, Nick and Honey learn more about George and Martha's relationship as they witness the back and forth verbal assaults grow with intensity the more liquor is consumed. Unexpectedly, however, George and Martha also uncover a great deal of insight into the relationship between Nick and Honey when it is revealed that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
Of course, Burton and Taylor rule the screen each scene in which they inhabit it. The audience, captivated by the pair's brilliant performances, is left wondering just how much of the film is autobiographical of their off-screen tumultuous relationship. In the many years that I had wanted to see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, I had always assumed that Burton and Taylor made up the primary couple, and Segal and Dennis, the secondary couple. After finally seeing the film, however, it is clear that the more revelatory experience takes place through the on-screen performances of George Segal and Sandy Dennis. It is the Nick and Honey couple that is far more interesting to dissect. George and Martha put all of their issues with each other on display for any interested parties to witness. Nick and Honey, on the other hand, live in denial that their relationship is anything but perfect, and have repressed many issues they have had in hopes that projecting the image of a perfect relationship would create one in actuality. I found myself surprisingly captivated by the inner workings of Nick and Honey's subtly strained marriage more so than the visibly tumultuous marriage of Martha and George. What was also intriguing was the unrealized desire to flesh out the issues that are revealed to have plagued Nick and Honey's relationship since before their marriage. If I walked into a couple's home, who had no qualms about fighting openly with each other while plying me with alcohol within minuted of my entering the door, I would make any excuse necessary to leave. Nick and Honey, however, decide to stay even when the conversation turns uncomfortable as a sort of impromptu therapy session. Knowing they have several issues within their marriage that lie below the surface, their relationship is actually the one that needs more work than George and Martha's. Granted, George and Martha don't have the best coping mechanism in place to deal with their issues, but open discourse about their problems is far better than the denial and fake-it-till-you-make-it tactic that Nick and Honey have employed since before they were married. An incredible look at the overwhelming difficulties of cohabitation and merging of souls that marriage brings, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a film that will not quickly be forgotten by any who see it.
Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) is the daughter of the President of a New Carthage university where her husband George (Richard Burton) is an associate professor. The couple has been married for quite some time, most of their years together seeming to be unhappy. By the time the audience meets them, it is revealed that they spend the majority of their nights engaging in drunken verbal assault against each other. Despite their marriage that seems to be based on convenience and career advancement for George, the audience can also sense there is a deep emotional dependence of each upon the other. At 2:00 in the morning, after a faculty mixer, Martha reveals that she has invited Nick (George Segal) a young charismatic biology professor, new to the university, and his wife Honey (Sandy Dennis) over to their home for drinks. As the evening wears on, and more drinks are poured, Nick and Honey learn more about George and Martha's relationship as they witness the back and forth verbal assaults grow with intensity the more liquor is consumed. Unexpectedly, however, George and Martha also uncover a great deal of insight into the relationship between Nick and Honey when it is revealed that the grass isn't always greener on the other side.
Of course, Burton and Taylor rule the screen each scene in which they inhabit it. The audience, captivated by the pair's brilliant performances, is left wondering just how much of the film is autobiographical of their off-screen tumultuous relationship. In the many years that I had wanted to see Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, I had always assumed that Burton and Taylor made up the primary couple, and Segal and Dennis, the secondary couple. After finally seeing the film, however, it is clear that the more revelatory experience takes place through the on-screen performances of George Segal and Sandy Dennis. It is the Nick and Honey couple that is far more interesting to dissect. George and Martha put all of their issues with each other on display for any interested parties to witness. Nick and Honey, on the other hand, live in denial that their relationship is anything but perfect, and have repressed many issues they have had in hopes that projecting the image of a perfect relationship would create one in actuality. I found myself surprisingly captivated by the inner workings of Nick and Honey's subtly strained marriage more so than the visibly tumultuous marriage of Martha and George. What was also intriguing was the unrealized desire to flesh out the issues that are revealed to have plagued Nick and Honey's relationship since before their marriage. If I walked into a couple's home, who had no qualms about fighting openly with each other while plying me with alcohol within minuted of my entering the door, I would make any excuse necessary to leave. Nick and Honey, however, decide to stay even when the conversation turns uncomfortable as a sort of impromptu therapy session. Knowing they have several issues within their marriage that lie below the surface, their relationship is actually the one that needs more work than George and Martha's. Granted, George and Martha don't have the best coping mechanism in place to deal with their issues, but open discourse about their problems is far better than the denial and fake-it-till-you-make-it tactic that Nick and Honey have employed since before they were married. An incredible look at the overwhelming difficulties of cohabitation and merging of souls that marriage brings, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a film that will not quickly be forgotten by any who see it.