Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)

"It Is So Seventies !"

I have loved this film since it was first released in Canada. I saw it at a theatre on Yonge Street in Toronto at a Saturday matinee where the kiss between the two men started a mini-riot sparked by some teen-aged boys in the audience. They were probably expecting a gangster movie !
I have over the years recommended the film, and loaned my VHS and DVD copies to people younger than myself who universally seem to have the same reaction, "It is so Seventies !" Never mind that it is one of the best acted films of its decade, and that it unflinchingly examines complex relationships with an honesty and integrity that would not be equaled for many years. (Possibly until BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.)
Essentially it is the tale of a complex triangle, one part straight, one part gay, where both relationships are going down the tubes simultaneously. The young man (Murray Head) at the center of both relationships is unaware of, or indifferent to, the hurt that he is causing his two lovers.
The acting of Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch is superb. Jackson is subtle and fascinating throughout, and Finch reaches a heartbreaking integrity in his final little speech spoken directly to the audience. Murray Head is better as the young artist who ignites the passions of the two others than he was generally given credit for. You need to see both his allure and his indifference, and he handles this tricky dichotomy very well.
Although it is very dark in mood much of the time, there are some sparks of humor, some of them provided by Bessie Love as a nosy operator at an answering service shared by the three protagonists. The children that are being babysat by Jackson and Head on the "bloody" weekend alluded to in the title, are a very smart observation of bright over-indulged children of the well educated upper-middle class. Jon Finch puts in a brief and disturbing appearance as a hustler that Finch has known sometime in his past.
I seem to remember reading that the "bar mitzvah" reception scene in the film was the most expensive food scene ever in film up to that time because they had to keep re-shooting it. It too provides some humor when Finch is sat down next to a recently divorced woman by his well intentioned and unaware family.
The gorgeous terzetto from Mozart's opera COSI FAN TUTTE that provides the frequently repeated "theme" for the film is an ideal choice. An operatic scene with a gorgeous melody which is about benevolent farewells
provides a moving sonic envelope for some of the most moving moments.
Is the film 'too seventies !' I think not. That the seventies were a time of overly casual sexual relationships is a media commonplace that doesn't really hold up to close scrutiny. There is nothing casual about the relationships ending in this film. At least two of the protagonists will be affected by their breakups for the rest of their lives.
July 28, 2008

a fine film

I couldn't add anything over/above that which has been said already about this film (in a variety of places, readily consultable). While I found "Women in Love" to be perhaps slightly more compelling, this is a very satisfying film; and I am very glad to have found a copy at last. April 23, 2008

A very thinky movie, considering

that it deals with two attractivre, middle-aged people, a man and a woman, deeply in love with the same young man, who returns both their loves (in fact, seems to be the most sexually agressive of the three), but who will not choose between the other two, and generally refuses to be crowded in any way. It seems that before the movie starts, both Alex (Glenda Jackson) and Daniel (Peter Finch) have agreed to this arrangement, no matter how uncomfortable it makes both of them. This makes for a superficially sophisticated, easy situation which is actually seething with emotion and frustration. Both of these people are rich in understanding, and seem as complete as a love-torn individual could be-- though Daniel easily has the more fulilling life (Alex is about to quit her job, and Daniel is an extremely competent doctor, whose feelings never interfere with his giving all his attention to his patients).

When Bob, the young man, decides to leave for New York anyway (to further his own career, an because he IS feeling too much pressure from both of them), Daniel says "it was better than nothing," while Alex says "sometimes, nothing is better than something." Is this a function of their belonging to two different sexes, or is one of them wrong, and the other one right?

Also, it occurs to me that a person's being unable to commit himself to you might have nothing to do with you; it might simply be that it is the wrong time for him to commit himself to anyone. Is this the case with Bob, the younger man?

That's what I meant by "thinky." February 10, 2008

Complicated love

What a treat to see Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch in the film about midlife love for a young, uninhibited artist (Bob). We see two middle aged, upper class intellectuals (Alex and Daniel) both deeply in love with the same person. The object of their love is young, handsome and talented young man who is also unintentionally cruel to them both. By sharing his love with male and female lover(s) he is torturing them with uncertainty of his commitment to either one of them. His doe like eyes and agreeable demeanor is so sweet that neither one of his lovers can truly get angry with him since he seems, in his undecisiveness, to float amongst them almost as air. While both of his lovers know about each other's existence they seem to tolerate it in some naive form of belief that their patience, love and tolerance will tip the young man in one way or the other. Both are wise and middle aged and they know that their amorous choices at this point of their lives are limited. They are fortunate with a little bit of happiness in their life that is brought by this carefree individual. But life is not a sum of happy parts -- it is far more complicated that that. And any time complications seem to surround them: large family with lots of children, responsibilities both professional and personal, friend's arguments, young Bob (Murray Head) seems to withdraw himself from either one of them as if there is a world somewhere far, far away (like America for example) where everything is simpler, or bigger, or better, or easier. And as their young lover leaves them both - his female companion with his pet parrot and her realization that she will remain alone, eternally free and unattached from the quarters of a safe marriage; and his male lover alone with his tapes of italian language practice excercises, and coming to terms of his own homosexuality and aloneness that comes with it, we start to fully appreciate the complications of our lives and compromises we are willing to make as human beings to fulfill our basic need for love and acceptance by people we care for the most, no matter what the (emotional) price we have to pay. Truly artistic movie with all of its complexity. Probably one of the best performances I have seen. Also a trip thru time when all of our communications were carefully managed by impossibly patient female telephone operators who served as confidants, secretaries and quiet observers of long distance social interactions. October 17, 2007

A mature, realistic depiction of relationships...

I've always loved this film. It's an incredibly intelligent, realistic depiction of relationships. It is directedly sensitively and beautifully by John Schlesinger, one of the finest British directors. This is his follow up film to his incredible Midnight Cowboy, and he doesn't disappoint. Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson are both in love (or so they think) with Murray Head. This film depicts this love triangle not in a sleazy, comical way (like it would today), but as a deep, thoughtful, painful, and NORMAL thing, just like all relationships. The film, as other reviewers have noted, depicted homosexuality as normal and not a big deal, which it is. The relationships are sensitively handled, and Finch and Jackson give great performances. Head gives a good performance, but some have questioned why his character inspires such passion in Jackson and Finch. He's a rather bland character, but who knows the ways of love and/or desire. I shudder on how this film might be made today, but luckily, I don't think they're going to remake this film anytime soon. This is a wonderful film, and it still holds up today. April 29, 2007

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