Review of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) by Marcos O — 14 May 2010

Powerfully scripted, outstandingly performed, randomly directed, this thrill house of a play adaptation served as director Mike Nichols intro to film so he could take on the Graduate. At times, the images are dense, detailed, and meaningful, while at others, they're inter cut with embarrassingly awkward insert shots that feel like Nichols is reaching for an uninvented technique to break up the feeling that this wasn't written as a film at all.

No matter. The banter and dialogue is so painfully witty and constant that you won't be able to close your mouth for the duration of the film. The conclusion feels lackluster in the face of the tremendous emotional turmoil and marriage deconstruction we've witnessed up to that point, but no matter, enjoy the ride.