Review of Suddenly, Last Summer (2013) by Donald T — 26 Apr 2010

I had to special-order this one from Archambault in order to finally see this classic film from the Code days before the creation of the MPAA. The subject matter is so covert that it takes a good ear for dialogue and an appreciation for the subtleties and nuances evoked by Gore Vidal and Tenessee Williams' (in adapting his own play).

Elizabeth Taylor, Monty Clift, and Katherine Hepburn ( in a perfectly icy performance) star in this gothic tale of madness, sexual repression, and psychosurgery - think lobotomy, or prefrontal lobe surgery.

The plot centers on Taylor's amenesia following a tragic excursion with her male cousin, Sebastian, and the secrets her locked mind hold for the family, and the matriarchial control over her fate, and a mother's preservation of her son's legacy.

Just remember this, as you watch the film: When Taylor says Sebastian ''used us a decoys'' she is essentially saying she and Hepburn procured men for him by using their female beauty to attract men.

This a story in which homosexuality is fertile ground for all of Freud's theories about mother-son relationships. Dated, yes, over-the-top, sure, but grandly acted and fascinatinating. A must-see.