If one is to be crazy and potentially dangerous to those in the immediate vicinity it is probably best to be crazy and dangerous in as wide an array of lovely floral prints as can be mustered even if so doing does not help one keep track of time or space in the least and if there is a country cottage available in which to be clad in floral prints, dangerous and crazy, and space to roam about in, let there also be rollicking ponies and peacefully baa-ing sheeps to co-occupy that space because there might as well be even if their presence cannot alter the outcome of the story one seems to be writing or being written by, it is altogether more pleasant that way.

Part of the Film School Dropouts Challenge
Week 27: Robert Altman

An immersive, compelling and creepy tale of mental illness, desperation and sexuality that's unsettling throughout with its eerie and noisy score, striking editing (there's some awesome transitions in this), and its dream-like imagery. Its small-scaled, simple yet effective, and wholly atmospheric and expressive, it draws you into its dreamy, strange world and doesn't let go. Susannah York delivers an Oscar-worthy, energetic performance of a woman going through a mental breakdown, slowly loosing grip on reality, its through her fractured mind the film is seen. Man, those screams... haunting. Didn't know much about this one going in, but it has turned out to be one of my favorites from Altman. Fans of 3 Women would dig this as this gives a similar vibe, and is different from what Altman is known for. Give this one a restoration for christ sake, Criterion! It really deserves one. Its an overlooked gem.

A film that’s very easy to admire and impossible to enjoy.

+ that it doesn't play the is she crazy or not game and also real nice locations p good acts and some decent facts
- score is pretty lifeless and most spook films are reliant on that eeriness to keep up a constant spook-experience and this one ain't an exception

verdict:  📬📬📬📭📭

This probably aims for subversiveness, but comes across as a pretty conventional story about a character losing their mind, if you've already seen a few things like that. I feel exactly about this as I do about similar psychological horror like Repulsion and Possession--there are interesting elements and a few relatively scary moments, but the content is entirely vague and it doesn't lead me anywhere. If it's supposed to be a wholly abstract experience, then I at least need to feel something resonate while watching so it doesn't just veer into pure self-indulgence. Shirley Jackson's stories with similar themes such as "The Daemon Lover" work perfectly for me because I'm able to get the big picture strictly through the subtleties, but I just get bored or disappointed when I see stuff like Images.

This film started like an Argento flick, and ended like a Lynch one. Really captivating cinematography, possibly the best part of this movie. The story isn't as effective as it was in its obvious inspiration, Persona (1966), but is still interesting enough to get you through the whole ride. And you really will want to stay for the end if you want a huge payoff.
All in all, a beautifully filmed, structurally sound study of reality vs fiction by Altman.

a splintered, chilling descent into madness where memory, reality, fantasy and a child's fairytale collide in the mind of writer Catherine, brilliantly portrayed by Susaanah York.

It might be unfair to say that this movie about a schizophrenic woman cannot keep up with Polanski’s “Repulsion”, because even though it has the same subject it has a very different approach. Where “Repulsion” observes, “Images” takes you inside the head of the protagonist. Sometimes it works, in other parts the many overlapping voices, outlandish sound effects and abrupt change of moods come over as too ‘busy’ instead of creepy. Susannah York’s solid performance carries you through these lesser sequences.

Somehow even more difficult to get a handle on than 3 Women, and that's a good thing. This subject matter (a woman haunted by what she believes are phantoms or apparitions as she attempts to write a children's novel) is elevated by being essentially a chamber piece. Much of the film takes place in a beautiful country house that becomes disconcertingly claustrophobic as the camera weaves in and out of tight spaces, room to room, as Susannah York's Cathryn pursues (and is pursued) by haunting images of her past.