Suddenly, Last Summer

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Ed . "Touching" story by TN Williams, elongated thanks to GO Vidal, that really tore me to pieces. Highly enjoyable despite some gaping holes and obvious questions, such as: How dumb and blind could Violet be? Surely, any empty headed sybarite such as Wallis Simpson would have caught on to Sebastian's modus operandi? Surely, Vi's sexual magnetism attracting males under 21 must have waned years earlier than just the most previous summer? How different would this story have turned out had Sebastian invited George along instead of Catherine? Or, if Sebastian's keen interests lie in young girls instead of the boys in the tin band? If offered today, it would be cancelled before opening day. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/29/25 Full Review Alec B You can scarcely believe what your watching here and yet the movie is still hypnotic in a strange way. At a certain point you have to accept the hysterical pop psychology or simply turn it off. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/24/25 Full Review Dave S Despite same glaring flaws, Suddenly, Last Summer is a searing study of mental illness. Captive in a psychiatric hospital since witnessing the death of her cousin the previous summer, Catherine (Elizabeth Taylor) discovers that she is a candidate for a lobotomy, arranged by her aunt (Katharine Hepburn) to suppress the truth about her deceased son. Based on a play by Tennessee Williams, the movie is filled with an excessive amount of dialogue, eschewing potentially impactful visuals in favor of needless verbiage. The film is also filled with a handful of wildly overwrought scenes, including the insanely melodramatic piece where Hepburn’s character tells of the hatching of the sea turtles. Despite these shortcomings, Taylor gives a memorable performance, the story is intriguing, and the finale is sure to stay with the viewer long after the credits have rolled. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/20/24 Full Review Leaburn O It took until the 1950s for lobotomies to fall out of fashion. This film picks up on the waning enthusiasm for the procedure and the nascent concerns over long term neurological damage. So we’re presented with a 1950s nightmare, where a woman is made out to be mad by her family to cover up some overwrought family neurosis. The weird thing is that Taylor comes across as entirely sane until the big reveal moment when she explains the truth behind the big family secret. At that point, her story and behaviour becomes utterly deranged. It’s not the best acted, nor the most sensible screenplay I’ve ever seen, whilst the ending is an abject disappointment. Not a classic to my mind. Watched on DVD. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 10/08/24 Full Review Melissa L I believe this is a classic, yet the only movie I've seen with Elizabeth Taylor. She really was a beautiful actress. All the acting was great. I definitely recommend it. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/11/24 Full Review nick s It's painfully talky, with characters prattling on ad nauseum about past events. Even the A list actors were struggling to put in a good performance with the bloated script. Maybe the destination is good - I didn't get there so I don't know - but the ride is a bit of a snore fest. I think a lot of plays don't adapt well to screen, and this is one of them. And the art dept have no idea what a venus flytrap looks like :) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Suddenly, Last Summer

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