Interiors
1978 Directed by Woody Allen
Synopsis
Homage to Ingmar Bergman in this family drama involving a fashionable Long Island interior designer who tries to impose her overbearing, critical standards on her husband and her three grown daughters. The film is a realistic look at the relationships among one artistically-oriented family; one daughter is a successful writer; the second is looking for an artistic outlet; and the third is an actress. The mother has been deserted by her husband, their father. She thinks and hopes they may reconcile, but she soon learns that he has other thoughts that circle about a new acquaintance, a woman who has had two husbands and is still lively.
Cast
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It's really a shame that the criticisms against INTERIORS then and now are that it doesn't "feel" like a Woody Allen movie, or that he is making someone else's film. Is there anything more deterring for an artist than having a reception saying "stick to what you're good at!". It makes you want to shrink rather than grow, which is exactly what Allen is trying to do here.
For me, it isn't that Allen is emulating someone else that stiffens the film, it's that the whole thing is dreadfully dull, and at worst blatantly pretentious. I don't doubt that Allen was exploring his techniques and finding more transparency in his work, some of the trademark themes are here (preoccupation with…
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Nothing really bad is going on here. In fact, it looks good and the performances are good. It's just dull. I can't remember the last time I cared so little about the characters in a movie. Their problems were uninteresting and the way they dealt with them were even more so. Characters feeling sorry for themselves is something I hate and there is not a single person here that doesn't feel that way except Maureen Stapleton who feels like a breath of fresh air when she enters.
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In my opinion this is by far Woody Allen's best film.
Geraldine Page is incredible as the tortured Eve. So quiet yet you see the trouble in her mind-there's a hurricane of hurt inside of her. Nominated for Best Actress for this and well deserved.
Mary Beth Hurt is so good as Joey-dealing with the overwhelming feeling's towards life with no way to give it any output-she plays the part perfectly-you can see and feel the frustration. I don't know how she wasn't nominated for this.
Diane Keaton is wonderful-her first scene alone deserved a nomination-I'm really shocked she didn't get one.
E. G. Marshal is great in this as the father-his scene with Hart and Keaton when he announces…
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I always meant to see this film much earlier than I eventually did (earlier today, with a morning cup of coffee) and about thirty seconds into the first images of it, I knew that the first viewing was destined to be postponed until now. There's something eerily strange about the fact that inside the very month of my life that I decided to become immersed in the cinema of Ingmar Bergman, I finally have seen Woody Allen's "Interiors"...a powerful piece of work that he said owed quite a bit to Bergman.
What's wrong with taking a page from one of the greatest filmmakers the world will ever know? Absolutely nothing if it is Woody Allen doing so, and admitting it…
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Though it comes off with a bit of high air, Interiors is Allen's familial explorative follow-up to his Best Picture Annie Hall. (Is it me or is he trying to do Bergman-type stuff here?) The performances are the best part with Keaton, Waterston, Page, Jordan, Hurt, Griffith, and Stapleton all giving complex performances that morph into a wonderful ensemble. There are sequences that are marvelous, but I think Allen's writing here is a little self-aware of how acute he's looking at this family. Nonetheless, it's the cast and the wonderful framing/lighting that gives edge and depth to these characters and their story. Even when Woody'ss a little off (more-so in his later years than in here in the 70's and 80's), he still manages to explore depths that most writers/filmmakers only can dream of.
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Where Woody first tried to adopt a dramatic tone, of which he’d do better later on in such films as Hannah and Her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors. This is pure drama, with no comedic elements at all, as he tracks a family falling apart with stage-like intimacy.
Its always interesting to see someone going outside of their comfort zone, although it includes some of the most nonsense-pseudo-intellectual-babble dialogue I have ever heard. Though I’m still undecided if this is to its discredit or not. Yeah, people don’t talk like this in real life, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they shouldn’t in my movies.
Apart from any apprehensions about the self-indulgent dialogue* it was a well constructed (interior) drama. Good film, but not a great one.
*WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE OF US WHO CAN’T CREATE? WHAT DO WE DO? WHAT DO I DO WHEN I’M OVERWHELMED WITH FEELINGS ABOUT LIFE?
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Woody Allen cita klasiķa, I.Bergman, godināšana ar šo, daudzu nozākāto kā mazajam ēbrejam neraksturīgu atkāpi, piezemēto un neizpausto dusmu pilno filmu šķiet krietns gājiens. Pārmetumi, ka šajā nav manāms W.Allen rokraksts ir pilnīgas muļķības. Tas ir pārbagāts ar woody-iskiem elementiem un tēliem. Tie, vienkārši, šoreiz darbojās uz I.Bergman veidotas skatuves. Un ļoti atbilstoši.
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It's really a shame that the criticisms against INTERIORS then and now are that it doesn't "feel" like a Woody Allen movie, or that he is making someone else's film. Is there anything more deterring for an artist than having a reception saying "stick to what you're good at!". It makes you want to shrink rather than grow, which is exactly what Allen is trying to do here.
For me, it isn't that Allen is emulating someone else that stiffens the film, it's that the whole thing is dreadfully dull, and at worst blatantly pretentious. I don't doubt that Allen was exploring his techniques and finding more transparency in his work, some of the trademark themes are here (preoccupation with…
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Woody Allen's first big step into dramatics isn't quite up there with his best work but it does boast a killer performance from Geraldine Page, and some beautiful Bergmanesque moments.
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Nothing really bad is going on here. In fact, it looks good and the performances are good. It's just dull. I can't remember the last time I cared so little about the characters in a movie. Their problems were uninteresting and the way they dealt with them were even more so. Characters feeling sorry for themselves is something I hate and there is not a single person here that doesn't feel that way except Maureen Stapleton who feels like a breath of fresh air when she enters.
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the interiors were SO GREAT. and the movie was okay. not exactly a laugh fest though. and of course the characters are all vile. but i still quite liked it.
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At first this film seemed to be a long amalgamation of "first world problems". A bourgeoise family of artists is increasingly discontent with their lives of relative ease and leisure. However just like David Lynch turns 50's Americana on its head this film peels back the layers and weaves a dark and complex narrative. However taxing it can can be at moments to watch these characters discontent it does offer an intelligently fascinating look into the depth of relationships and the human condition.
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Allen by way of Bergman. A stylistic and tonal departure that works due to the strength of the performances.
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A great film from Woody Allen. And one that is criminally overlooked. Minimal plot, but in terms of content is great. A devastating view on broken families and a superb character study. All actresses are great, their stories really touching. Great film.