Rachel, Rachel (1968)
Grade: 70
"Rachel, Rachel" marked the debut of Paul Newman as a Director and Producer. The film, highly acclaimed at the time but since largely forgotten, stars Newman's wife Joanne Woodward as the title character, and also features their daughter (Nell Potts) who plays Rachel as a child.
Rachel is a 35 year old unwed schoolteacher who has grown tired of her unrewarding life in rural Connecticut. Since her undertaker father's death ten years past, she has been a servant to her manipulative, demanding mother (Kate Harrington, who may give the film's best performance). Her best friend is latent lesbian Calla (Estelle Parsons). Looking for an escape from her mundane routine, Rachel first attends a cultish religious meeting, then takes as a lover cynical confirmed bachelor Nick (James Olson).
A slow-moving character study, "Rachel, Rachel" is visually impressive and compelling. Most interesting are the short 'fantasy' scenes, the only scenes where the repressed Rachel is ever able to do what she truly wants to. The only comic relief is ironic, but the characters are credible and well defined.
Stewart Stern was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, which was based on the novel "A Jest of God" by Margaret Laurence. Newman won a Golden Globe for Best Director, and the film was nominated by the Academy for Best Picture. Joanne Woodward and Estelle Parsons were nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
Despite the success of "Rachel, Rachel", Newman's career as a director never panned out. Of course, it did not need to, since he was one of Hollywood's leading men from the 1950s through the 1970s and remains a star today (his current film is "Message in a Bottle"). Like fellow Actor/Director Robert Redford, with whom his career often parallels, his debut film as a director became by far his most important.
kollers@mpsi.net http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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