Review of BUtterfield 8 (1960) by Elvira B — 30 Jan 2009

Elizabeth Taylor shines as a collapsing femme fatale . She plays the role of an elegant call-girl, a woman whose social status and possessions are a fraud, depending only on who she's with and what she's working on. Formally, a model hired to show off and take photographs in designer clothes at social happenings... informally, "the slut of all time". Gloria, the character, is an earlier, more aggressive version of Holly Golightly, perhaps less idealistically naive or cute. BUtterfield 8 (call now... or not?) is an early 60s variation of the story we often hear: a woman changes her immoral ways a cause of the love of a man. Despite the cliche, the story rather breaks the mold by establishing the characters as doomed, and portraying how it is simply not that easy to forget or erase a lifetime's reputation. The actions have repercussions on the actors, nothing is precisely rose-tinted, and I believe that is what makes BUtterfiled a worthy watch. It has no styllistic pretentions beyond the figure of Gloria herself, and concentrates, almost too closely, on the human drama.

As in many 60s films, BUtterfiled 8 is everything but puritan. Gloria is unapologetically sensual and at times obscene; her character is fascinating. Regardless of the Oscar that she won, Elizabeth Taylor's performance is towering, and her presence alone saves her character from becoming an overtly dramatic figure, so unfortunate that it might end up becoming the outline of a caricature of itself. She pulls the lines with enough skill to keep Gloria afloat. The rest of the cast may be less outstanding, but is there another reason to watch this besides Liz?

I don't know if BUtterfield 8 is essential 60s viewing, in many ways it's still a 50s film but with one foot on that following decade. I don't know if it's essential cinema at all. But I do know it is no waste of time to see Liz Taylor in a good role as an interesting, although not very sympathetic, man-eater in search of profoundity and redemption.