Review of The Shout (1978) by Eric R — 26 Jul 2011
Anthony, a music composer, and his wife are a happily married couple who live in the countryside. One day while Anthony is returning from Church he meets Crossley, a strange man, who he invites over for dinner.
Crossley tells the couple about how he was raised by Australian Aborigines who endowed him with strange powers. The couple merely writes him off as strange but as time passes they can't seem to get rid of him from their house; or do they even want too.
THE SHOUT is a film that is very much in the vein of Pasolini's Teorema. Alan Bates gives a creepy and odd performance as Crossley. Jerzy Skolimowski creates a rather difficult film that doesn't cater to the audience.
Its highly intellectual and thought-provoking but it never really gives the viewer many answers. The films has some great compositions and uses sound design, particularly the stuff built around Anthony's life as a music composer, to great affect.
Skolimowki's direction and the cinematography really do create this great feeling of unease throughout the film. The Shout is a challenging film which I am sure lots of people have different opinions about.
Its expertly crafted and thought-provoking even though I am still not entirely sure what point Skolimowski was trying to make.
This review of The Shout (1978) was written by Eric R on 26 Jul 2011.
The Shout has generally received positive reviews.
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