The problem here is that the wife feels guilty for all her husband's mishandling of her, and the worse he behaves, the more atrocious his transgressions become, the more she feels that she has failed him and deserves what she gets. Fortunately she has a friend who has some experience as a social worker and who understands the situation better than Ellen herself, since she has had her men and come out of it alive. Ellen very nearly doesn't come out of it alive.
As many have pointed out, this has some bearings on Hitchcock's "Psycho" a few years before, and the character of the thriller is very Hitchcockian. However, Hitchcock would have gone deeper, chiselled out the psychology better, let some details speak for themselves and gone closer into the characters. The result of the missing masterstrokes is a great psychological drama truncated into superficiality, and none of the actors are really allowed to play out, except the two women. It's a very bizarre film with some very odd moments of attempted lyricism and grotesque black comedy, but the result is at least interesting enough. This is too much for 87 minutes, too much is crammed in into too small a space, but at least the conclusion is satisfactory enough.
As many have pointed out, this has some bearings on Hitchcock's "Psycho" a few years before, and the character of the thriller is very Hitchcockian. However, Hitchcock would have gone deeper, chiselled out the psychology better, let some details speak for themselves and gone closer into the characters. The result of the missing masterstrokes is a great psychological drama truncated into superficiality, and none of the actors are really allowed to play out, except the two women. It's a very bizarre film with some very odd moments of attempted lyricism and grotesque black comedy, but the result is at least interesting enough. This is too much for 87 minutes, too much is crammed in into too small a space, but at least the conclusion is satisfactory enough.