Remember My Name (1978)

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This film had a lot going for it: Decent dialogue, and great acting by Perkins and Chaplin.The cinematography is pretty good for a low-budget, minimalist film too. The problem is the ending.Perhaps I'm to blame for expecting an over-the-top movie like Fatal Attraction. I expected a slightly more profound, emotional climax after all the buildup. The stalker character seems legitimately deranged, albeit in a subtle, slow-burning, methodical way. But the character is wasted. Whereas Fatal Attraction had a cartoon ending, here it is a pathetic whimper. The film intensifies the paranoia, and it does manage a good twist. All the characters are well rounded, and the story had a lot of potential, but it doesn't really go anywhere. It just looks that way because the film ends so inexplicably and abruptly, so you are left confused by her scheme. Apparently all the antagonist was after was her ex-husband's credit cards. She does manage to screw up his life a bit, but it almost seems coincidental.

After carving out eccentric, obtuse molds for her personality while co-starring in Robert Altman's "Nashville" and Alan Rudolph's "Welcome to L.A.", Geraldine Chaplin finally earned a full-bodied (though still utterly eccentric) leading role in Rudolph's "Remember My Name", which was produced by Robert Altman. Chaplin plays an ex-convict and sociopath seeking a reunion with her former husband, a carpenter who has remarried and resides on the west coast; lacking interpersonal skills of any kind, she decides to get his attention by stalking he and his wife and breaking into their house. Intriguing, if unpleasant, modern-day melodrama with noir-ish overtures, made memorable by Chaplin's high-wire performance. Tough and unyielding, and possibly schizophrenic, Chaplin creates a portrait of a woman obsessed by the past, and wilting under the untouchable persona she has created for herself. The narrative goes a little batty in the final stretch, leading to a perplexing conclusion; however, the film's detached tone is very deliberate and assured--it creates a monotone ambiance which is hard to shake off. Director Rudolph, who also wrote the screenplay, seems to feel this material very deeply. It's a twisted and melancholy valentine. **1/2 from ****

I saw this film last night at the George Eastman House. The announcer said that it would not be released for video because of the rights to the soundtrack. The singer died without releasing the rights. In any event, I found it fascinating. However, the conclusion seemed rushed and didn't clarify the motives of the protagonist Emily.Don't read further if you haven't seen it!!!---- All of a sudden Emily gets Neil to her place, sleeps with him, steals his credit card and then drives down the road that she drove in on at the beginning of the film. As languid as the rest of the film is, this happens so quickly you don't understand the meaning or purpose to Emily's actions. I felt like I wished I'd brought someone with me to the film so that we could discuss what the ending might have meant-

From the comments I've read here, I don't think the reviewers saw the version I did, and I can say that now since I've viewed a video of the film. The ending of the film in my version (and I suspect theirs) was nothing like what I saw on the screen and blew the entire integrity of a film that built its suspense and imagery bit by bit to lead up to a shocking conclusion. All of the things Emily asked for in her apartment are tools of her revenge on her ex-husband, but you'd never know it. It looks like she just beds him and leaves him. She does way more than that. SPOILER She chains him to the bed and abandons him. No one will know where he is or come to his rescue. He might find a way out, but it's not a sure thing. END SPOILERAnd tht git who didn't like the Alberta Hunter soundtrack--the words of the songs tell the story of the film beautifully--must be deaf. It's an amazingly beautiful soundtrack.