The Pumpkin Eater (1964)

Nice effects though.

I'll tell you why so serious

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Blistering performances.

I owe this movie a disclaimer before giving it a scathing review: I turned it off. I didn't see The Pumpkin Eater all the way through, so I have no idea if the second half or the end redeems the terrible beginning. Anne Bancroft was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars for her role as a depressed, repressed housewife in this dark, slow, drama. She's married to Peter Finch, and while he continually cheats on her, she's in therapy to try and figure out why she's so unhappy. By the time I turned it off, she'd started discussing her aversion to sex and her unfulfillment in her marriage. I only saw one expression on Anne's face, as if she'd just gotten a shot of Botox in her forehead, and since I'd expected more from this critically-acclaimed performance, I turned it off. Despite the supporting cast of James Mason, Maggie Smith, Cedric Hardwicke, and Janine Gray, I wasn't even remotely tempted to keep watching. As a side note, I also turned off The Happy Ending, a film starring Jean Simmons who tries to figure out why she's chronically unhappy in her marriage. These types of movies are not my favorite. If you like them, feel free to disregard my opinion.

I am not entirely sure what the title means, although I tend to think it has something to do with Anne Bancroft's character who remains continually pregnant, despite evidence of multi-infidelities by her husband, Peter Finch.This film came out the same year I was a junior in high school and would have been far too subtle and sophisticated for me then. I am glad I saw it now.I have always been a fan of Harold Pinter's writing and this adaptation from a novel is brilliant.The black and white photography is exquisite!Anne Bancroft gives a masterpiece of a forlorn performance and is joined wonderfully by James Mason and Maggie Smith as well as Peter Finch.The pace is slow and deliberate. The nuances are not for the crash and burn crowd. This is serious adult entertainment.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Anne Bancroft gives a shattering performance as a woman on the verge in The Pumpkin Eater. In arguably her finest role Bancroft through the shear power of expression slowly disintegrates from the pressures of raising an army of kids and the betrayal of her philandering husband in this melancholy marathon written by Harold Pinter and directed by Jack Clayton. Prolific breeder Jo marries up and coming screenwriter Jake Armitage and adds another child to the brood along the way. She luxuriates in the chaotic household but Jake chafes at the constant barrage of activity. He is also prone to straying. Watching Bancroft go over the edge is both disturbing and mesmerizing made even more uncomfortable by Jack Clayton and cinematographer Oswald Morris's insistence on making us see things from her point of view most of the film. Her haunting blank stares speak volumes making her rages all the more volcanic. The adult world she deals with is deceitful and cruel and we are left to witness her wall of denial crumbling. It's a grim but absorbing watch.Finch along with a superb supporting cast do an excellent job of illuminating Jo's hostile world. In a mere three scenes and one phone call James Mason goes about as low as one can get as a cuckolded husband with unctuous magnificence. Maggie Smith is exasperatingly callous as a mooch and lover to Jake while Yootha Joyce as a stranger in a benign hair salon is chilling.Over two hours in length this lugubrious work never wanes due to Pinter and Mortimer's fine tuned script that keeps you guessing as to the extent of Jo's instability along with Clayton's tension creating tight framing and Miss Bancroft's truly riveting performances that has to rank with some of the best of the decade.

A very interesting portrait of mental illness in the 1960's. I would trust no one other than Pinter with this task given the period.As I heard depression was a word unspoken during this period. The film also gave interesting tints of the sixties but in terms of the mental health I would have liked it if Harold pinter gave more detail. But certainly it was true that Jo Armitage wasn't falling over herself to commit suicide. There was a certain element of ennui in terms of mental illness that certainly isn't present in today's films.I thoroughly enjoyed this latter aspect and am still looking for its turn of the millennium parallel...