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DIANE KEATON DOUBLE-FEATURE!
Films to be screened:
LOVERS & OTHER STRANGERS (1970, directed by Cy Howard, 104 minutes, U.S.)
MRS. SOFFEL (1984, directed by Gillian Armstrong, 112 minutes, U.S.)
A pair of lesser-seen performances from the surprisingly-versatile actress Diane Keaton, who passed away in October of this year.
LOVERS & OTHER STRANGERS is the hit film adaptation of the of the 1968 Broadway comedy written by the husband and wife team of Joe Bologna and Renee Taylor. The story captures love and relationships at various stages, examining the lives of two families being brought together for the marriage of Mike and Susan (Michael Brandon & Bonnie Bedelia). Michael's Italian American family is led by the battling Bea Arthur (GOLDEN GIRLS great) & Richard Castellano (Clemenza from THE GODFATHER). Susan's WASPy father (Gig Young) is trailed by his desperate mistress and Ben Stiller's Mom Anne Meara may get the biggest laughs as Susan's frustrated older sister.
Diane Keaton makes her debut late in the film as the much-discussed Joan, who has just asked for a divorce from Mike's brother. Fashion and feminism pulsate with that early '70s vibe yet the script balances the screenwriters male and female perspectives to provide some timeless comedic insights as well as some classic belly laughs.
“'Lovers and Other Strangers' is as pleasant and genuinely amusing a comedy as we’re likely to find this year.”
- Roger Ebert,Chicago Sun-Times
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The early films of Australian director Gillian Armstrong are ripe for rediscovery, particularly her ill-fated Hollywood debut, 1984's MRS. SOFFEL starring Matthew Modine, a pre-scandal 28 year old Mel Gibson and Diane Keaton in the title role.
Based on some real Pennsylvania history, the film tells the story of a Allegheny County prison warden's wife who ran off with the incarcerated Biddle Brothers, destined to be hung for murder. The film starts off with an elegant slow-burn as Keaton's timid, sickly religiously-devout Kate Soffel gradually makes the decisions that will change her life forever.
Armstrong's classic storytelling is full of rich detail as it shifts between locales, masterfully unspooling its prison break as well as its gorgeously romantic “lovers on the run” finale. Armstrong not only has a strong feel for filming the landscape (like so many of those Aussie directors ) and brings a palpable sense of community to the film, giving memorable little character moments to actors including Maury Chaykin, Edward Herrmann, Trini Alvarado, Valerie Buhagiar, Terry O'Quinn and William Duell. Cinematographer Russell Boyd (of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK and many other Peter Weir features) brings a striking clarity to both the lowlight prison and open snowy countryside.
Set up to be a big Christmas release, MRS SOFFEL didn't find its audience, sending Armstrong back to Australia to continue her career (she'd be back in Hollywood a decade later for her successful LITTLE WOMEN adaptation). Today, MRS. SOFFEL's grand big studio scale and its poetic restraint bring a timeless air to one of Keaton's finest performances.
“There isn't a single image that looks ordinary or stale. (Gillian) Armstrong and her cinematographer Russell Boyd give us a completely fresh vision of the American past.”
- Pauline Kael, The New Yorker
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