Review of The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981) by Naomi G — 12 Jul 2015

In 1981 I was just entering my teen years when my father took me to see Bob Rafelson's gritty and darkly erotic take on an Old-School Hollywood movie. I was fascinated by the film. I remember thinking I would be bored, but it drew me like a moth to a flame. I remember thinking that I had never seen an actress so charged as Nicholson took her on that dirty kitchen table. And, I remember thinking it odd that I found myself rooting for the drifter and the sultry wife as they began to pursue and get away with an evil act.

32 years later WB re-issued the infamous remake to blu-ray. I was eager to see if it retained any of the qualities and impact I had noted in 1981.

Bob Rafelson's film still holds a bite that the 1940's classic movie never had. There is no Hollywood Glam here. Sven Nykvist's cinematography is in top form. Nicholson and especially Lange give realistic performances. The movie's depiction of sexuality is not as graphic as I had remembered, but it is most certainly rooted in carnal lust. More to the point, Tay Garnett and Rafelsons' script adds a bit of psycho-sexual excitement that reflects the fractured logics of both leading characters. The film remains a subversive examination of human desire mixed with greed. As the dark film comes to a close, the feeling that remains is one more grounded in 1970's cinema than the beginning of the 1980's when the film was released. It is an uneasy film. All the more challenging is that it seems to want the audience to relate to the two leading characters. Or does it? It can be viewed in more than one way. An interesting cinematic experiment when mainstream filmmakers were more comfortable taking risks.