I've been looking forward to watching this one. The premise of the film is intriguing and by the plot outline I could tell this wasn't going to be a film that would just aim for thrills and suspense. Of course, I wouldn't have expected William Wyler to go in that direction either, even if this looked to be more eerie than anything he had done before.
'The collector' was no disappointment, in fact it had the impact of a... shovel. The abduction takes place almost straight away, and the rest of the film we observe a young man and a young woman both fighting in various manners for what they believe in and hope for. Pretty much all of this unfolds in an almost otherworldly house and cellar (Gabriels Manor, Edenbridge, UK^) far from the hurly burly of London, from where the girl was kidnapped.
The script may seem to take its time, but not one moment felt too much or out of place, playing on various themes such as trust, alienation, sadism, coming of age, love and paranoia, and manages to be utterly disturbing in such a subtle way. It consists of several long acts that eventually seem to take the two back to the beginning, but every time it is, or has to be, a néw beginning. Until... the ending may not be for everyone, though I think it was exactly what it needed - which is not to I say I saw it coming! Darkly humorous...? Or rather mind-numbingly sad...?
The performances of Terrence Stamp and Samantha Eggar are of course key here, and they delivered two characters who pulled me deep into this two hour story and made it feel like it was just a half hour or so.
A very big 9 out of 10 for now, but I might change my mind... sooner or later.
^ On the market right now for almost 2 million pounds, with no particular mention of the age old cellar, though... (outbuildings)
'The collector' was no disappointment, in fact it had the impact of a... shovel. The abduction takes place almost straight away, and the rest of the film we observe a young man and a young woman both fighting in various manners for what they believe in and hope for. Pretty much all of this unfolds in an almost otherworldly house and cellar (Gabriels Manor, Edenbridge, UK^) far from the hurly burly of London, from where the girl was kidnapped.
The script may seem to take its time, but not one moment felt too much or out of place, playing on various themes such as trust, alienation, sadism, coming of age, love and paranoia, and manages to be utterly disturbing in such a subtle way. It consists of several long acts that eventually seem to take the two back to the beginning, but every time it is, or has to be, a néw beginning. Until... the ending may not be for everyone, though I think it was exactly what it needed - which is not to I say I saw it coming! Darkly humorous...? Or rather mind-numbingly sad...?
The performances of Terrence Stamp and Samantha Eggar are of course key here, and they delivered two characters who pulled me deep into this two hour story and made it feel like it was just a half hour or so.
A very big 9 out of 10 for now, but I might change my mind... sooner or later.
^ On the market right now for almost 2 million pounds, with no particular mention of the age old cellar, though... (outbuildings)