Images (Robert Altman, 2009) Susannah York, Rene Auberjonois, Marcel Bozzuffi [A schizophrenic housewife kills off each of her terrorizing apparitions, unsure if these demons are merely figments of her imagination or part of reality.]
The characters' names in the film are the inverses of the real-life names of the actors playing their counterparts: For example, the protagonist Cathryn (played by Susannah York) shares the name of actress Cathryn Harrison, who likewise plays a character named Susannah.
Roger Ebert:
Images is a very atypical Altman film. For one thing, the dialog doesn’t overlap, and the visual style is more lyrical at some times, more jagged at others, than his usual approach of sticking his cinematic nose here and there and rummaging about in his plot. The photography is by Vilmos Zsigmond, who does a skilful job of staying within the woman’s point of view while nevertheless suggesting what’s really going on. There’s an especially good use of images to suggest her confusion over time and real events. Some of the moments of deja-vu remind us of Don’t Look Now ... But the movie, as I’ve suggested, inspires admiration rather than involvement. It’s a technical success but not quite an emotional one.
Wikipedia:
The film received mixed reviews from critics; Roger Ebert gave Images three stars out of four, recommending it to fans of Altman's filmography but also writing that it "inspires admiration rather than involvement. It's a technical success but not quite an emotional one." Gene Siskel also gave the film three stars out of four, praising the "extraordinary photography" and John Williams' "nicely disturbing score," although he found Altman's technique of mixing fantasy and reality "repetitious when extended for nearly two hours." Howard Thompson of The New York Times gave the film a negative review, writing: "As for why Robert Altman, the brilliant director of the comedy, M*A*S*H, elected to write and direct this mish-mash, that's his own business. It just doesn't work." Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "'Images' is an entertainment, with no solemn claims to be seen as a metaphor for our troubled but laugh-provoking times, and it entertains in a fine, shuddery fashion. Pauline Kael of The New Yorker was negative, writing: "To be effective, the movie needs to draw us in to identify with Susannah York's hallucinations, but the cold shine of the surfaces doesn't do it ... This is a psychological thriller with no psychological content, so there's no suspense and the climax has no power."
Michael Scheinfeld in TV Guide gave the film a positive assessment, writing: "Spectacularly filmed on location in Ireland, the country landscapes become an intricate part of the psychological puzzle, as Altman juxtaposes images such as the "real" Cathryn standing on top of an enormous hill and looking down at "herself;" blood dripping onto a carpet that dissolves into the rippling waves in a river; and mysterious shots of horses, clouds, and waterfalls that echo the voice-over narration of Cathryn's children's story 'In Search of Unicorns' (which was actually written by Susannah York). York gives a sensational performance..." Variety also published a favorable review of the film, praising York's performance: "[She has] the intensity and innocence marked by strain as well as sensual underpinnings, and brings off the final denouement with restraint and potency." John Simon wrote that the film "shows Robert Altman at his most trivial".
Garry Gillard | reviews | New: 20 January, 2022 | Now: 20 January, 2022