How we flocked, the rich and the poor in the early to late 1960's to see such films as ' The Pumpkin Eater ', ' The Servant ' and ' Accident ', all scripted by Harold Pinter. Sombre films they showed off the privileged, and their middle to upper class problems. The UK was getting very wealthy for some, and there had to be a veiled criticism of their self-indulgence. In some ways it was like the Nouvelle Vague in France ( Georges Delerue wrote the music for this film ) but there was no fun, no real joy of cinema for its own sake in any of them. ' The Pumpkin Eater ' was tastefully cold, beautifully filmed and directed, but essentially shallow, lurching from emotional cruelty to empty social gatherings. Anne Bancroft has too many children, previous husbands and a further husband played by Peter Finch. He is unfaithful, and Bancroft sinks into melancholy then beautifully dressed has a breakdown in Harrod's. This and a scene underneath a hair dryer where she is both flattered and verbally attacked by an ' ordinary ' woman is worth watching for its sheer improbability. I will give no spoilers as to how this claustrophobic film ends, but it sums up an era when London chic ruled the world. I give it a 5 for its sheer professionalism but its content leaves me cold, as so many films of its kind do. Wonderful for collector's of retro furniture, and for those who want to imitate the era.
Review of The Pumpkin Eater
