Lewis Fielding (Michael Caine) is a successful novelist. He and his wife Elizabeth (Glenda Jackson) have a young son, a big, beautiful house in the country, and plenty of hired help. They are a couple who appear to have it all, but seem to feel like they have nothing.
As the film begins, a bored Elizabeth is traveling alone by train for weekend in the German spa town of Baden-Baden to “find herself.” Also aboard is Thomas (Helmut Berger), a wayward German smuggler and gigolo—posing as a poet—whom we see retrieving a hidden package of drugs from the bathroom. At the fancy hotel where both are staying, Elizabeth and Thomas spot each other at a gambling table. Later, when the two meet by chance in an elevator, the sexual tension between the two is palpable.
Back home in England, Lewis suspects something is up, just from the tone in Elizabeth’s voice over the telephone. Having difficulty coming up with an idea for a new novel, a movie producer has suggested he try his hand at screenwriting. His idea is a “psychological story about the New Woman,” and though Lewis calls the whole thing boring, he suggests turning the idea into a thriller. With the screenplay idea ruminating in his head, Lewis begins having fantasies about his wife being seduced in an elevator by a stranger. When Elizabeth returns home, she has her own suspicions; the first thing she does is check their bed for evidence that Lewis might be having sex with their gorgeous French au pair, Catherine (Béatrice Romand). Adding to the couple’s insecurities is their own sexual frustration. Each time they make love, they find themselves interrupted mid-coitus, once by a neighbor, and again by their crying son.
The tension increases when Lewis gets a letter from Thomas. While claiming to be a fan of his books, Thomas mentions meeting Elizabeth, and his plan to visit next time he’s in England. When Thomas does arrive he is extremely rude. To make matters worse, he mistook Lewis for Henry Fielding, the fellow who wrote Tom Jones.
Despite the fact that Lewis quickly realizes Thomas isn’t a poet, and Elizabeth knows he’s a first class moocher, the couple invite him to spend the summer with them. They both have their own reasons for inviting him: Lewis claims that he wants to research this kind of nomadic character and put him in the script he’s working on, though he really hopes it will trick his wife into confession; equally, Elizabeth hopes to prove to Lewis that nothing happened between the two. Essentially, the fiction of Lewis’ script becomes the reality of what we are seeing in the film.
Director Joseph Losey and his screenwriter’s do a wonderful job of showing the subtle and not so subtle changes in the three main characters. Beyond that, at times viewers are forced to wonder whether what we see on screen is real, a product of Lewis’ imagination, or both. As usual, Glenda Jackson is excellent here as the bored housewife testing her own boundaries and Helmut Berger is believable as a gigolo, with enough charm to make women believe everything he says. Michael Caine is one of the greats, and he’s at the top of his game here, exuding palpable rage.
Shown in an aspect ratio of 1:85, this Blu-ray transfer looks great. Skin tones look natural, as do textures and colors. There is a subtle grain that adds a natural feel to the 1970’s atmosphere. Colors aren’t exactly vibrant at times, but it fits with the overall look and feel of things.
The original English soundtrack is given a solid LPCM two-channel mix. The soundscape has lots of atmosphere, with strong volume variation and clear tones throughout. Happily, the the track is lacking any hiss or static.
The special features are limited:
- Stills Gallery: A user-directed gallery with eight stills.
- Also From Kino-Lorber: Includes trailers for The Maids (3:09), Galileo (3:33), Priest of Love (2:45), and Lady Chatterley (2:09) in standard definition.
