That Cold Day In The Park is a great movie about obsession and posessive relationships, that more people should watch.
It takes an aging woman, Frances Austen, as the protagonist. She sees a (seemingly mute) young man in the park. She invites him in, and gives him a room, and trying to fulfill all of his needs. However, she has no intention of letting him go.
It plays as a slow burner psycho story. The characters are explored without ever getting basic information on them: the boy's name is never revealed, for example. But what is really ingenious about it is the progression and implications, as Frances grows more and more to need the boy in her house, and how she starts to desire him. The climax explodes about five minutes from the picture's end, once tension is maxed out and finally snaps.
It is a sexual thriller, yes. It is built around the emptiness of Frances's wealthy life, and how far she is willing to go in order to obtain some adventure, or perhaps "love".
Great performances come from Sandy Dennis (Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?) and Michael Burns (The Virginian). Burns, who has probably no more than 20 lines in the whole film, is given almost only the movement and the facial expressions to work with, and manages to be a mysterious and interesting presence in the screen. Dennis plays the lonely lady in a methodical way. Her voice is the highlight. By the end, when she asks the boy to "make love" to her, by her voice only, it is clear that she is on the verge of a breakdown.
The direction is Robert Altman's (The Player, M.A.S.H.), who had yet to take his greatest and most popular projects. The picture takes place mostly in interiors, giving a certain feeling of claustrophobia, as if the viewer was trapped alongside the boy. Surely a great idea for the cinematography, in the best "New Age Hollywood" style.
As quite slow, sexual and puzzling burn, it isn't everyone's cup of tea. But for the fans of the Late 60s and 70s era of "Arthouse" filmmaking, it is a great watch.
It takes an aging woman, Frances Austen, as the protagonist. She sees a (seemingly mute) young man in the park. She invites him in, and gives him a room, and trying to fulfill all of his needs. However, she has no intention of letting him go.
It plays as a slow burner psycho story. The characters are explored without ever getting basic information on them: the boy's name is never revealed, for example. But what is really ingenious about it is the progression and implications, as Frances grows more and more to need the boy in her house, and how she starts to desire him. The climax explodes about five minutes from the picture's end, once tension is maxed out and finally snaps.
It is a sexual thriller, yes. It is built around the emptiness of Frances's wealthy life, and how far she is willing to go in order to obtain some adventure, or perhaps "love".
Great performances come from Sandy Dennis (Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?) and Michael Burns (The Virginian). Burns, who has probably no more than 20 lines in the whole film, is given almost only the movement and the facial expressions to work with, and manages to be a mysterious and interesting presence in the screen. Dennis plays the lonely lady in a methodical way. Her voice is the highlight. By the end, when she asks the boy to "make love" to her, by her voice only, it is clear that she is on the verge of a breakdown.
The direction is Robert Altman's (The Player, M.A.S.H.), who had yet to take his greatest and most popular projects. The picture takes place mostly in interiors, giving a certain feeling of claustrophobia, as if the viewer was trapped alongside the boy. Surely a great idea for the cinematography, in the best "New Age Hollywood" style.
As quite slow, sexual and puzzling burn, it isn't everyone's cup of tea. But for the fans of the Late 60s and 70s era of "Arthouse" filmmaking, it is a great watch.