Presented out of sequence (either a trenchant move or merely ineptness), this Elizabeth Taylor melodrama, adapted from Muriel Spark's novel by director Giuseppe Patroni Griffi and Raffaele La Capria, is rather seductive on its slim budget and fascinating in its wrong-headedness. Filmed in Italy, the story concerns a mentally disturbed woman on the hunt for the perfect man to be her...murderer? The film has such a loopy, surreal quality, you can almost feel something extraordinary happening here but without the necessary talent to make it a success. Taylor is actually attempting something (rather than just posing), but one can only wonder what she made of this script and her odd, underwritten character. Most bad films are simply boring or uninspired, but "The Driver's Seat" has an almost accidental reverse-magic. On first glance, the construction of the picture appears to be amateurish--and Taylor set adrift--but Griffi has moviemaking fever and his film is almost always interesting. ** from ****
Review of The Driver's Seat
