Brando, Taylor and Huston. WOW...the greatest actor ever, sharing screen space with one of the greatest actresses ever and both being directed by one of the greatest directors ever, is something that should be savoured.
Reflections in a golden eye, is one of those movies which strikes you in the gut for showing life as the miserable bitch it can be. First the movie is a sold effort and leaves you feeling a lil shaken about life's complexities and how we have no say in it.
Taylor gives a great performance as the shrill / sassy / sensitive / sarcastic wife who feels nothing but contempt for her husband but can be very nice to others in her life.
Brando delivers one of his great performances and it is a shame and a blot that this act has not been accorded the status it deserves. No Oscar nomination, I can’t believe it. A repressed homosexual could have been a caricature, it would have been a putting off experience for the viewer. Brando plays his role in such a way that he is able to convey the anguish that his character will be feeling. The little nuances that he brings are astonishing and so very real and simple. This movie contains according to me the greatest breakdown scene ever put on film - when Brando is thrown by the horse and proceeds to whip the horse and then subsequently cries / breaks down, the emotion is scary. I had goose bumps when I watched it.
This film was a huge failure when it was released in 1967. The audiences I don’t think were prepared for a film like this. The remarkable thing about this movie is that there is not one happy person in the entire film. Brando is a repressed homosexual lusting after a private in the army, having his own troubles. Taylor his wife is having an affair with a Col and not happy with her married life. The private is lusting after Taylor and has a creepy way of satisfying his lust – he steals into Taylor’s bedroom in the night and smells her clothes.
This film along with a host of other Brando films from the 60s are now getting reevaluated and getting the recognition that they deserves.
Watch the film but don’t expect to come out all happy and gay (pun intended), this film will tell you that there are places and scenarios where misery and tragedy go hand in hand. Happiness is a mirage for the people living in those places.
