Review of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) by Lesia R — 29 Jan 2009

Has taken the smile on my face from "His Girl Friday" and turned it upside down. Took about 15 minutes for it to get started, but after that, it was a trainwreck of an arguement, that makes you want to leave the room at times, then stay just to watch the fireworks, it's like im four years old all over again.

I enjoyed that the most important character in this, the "son" remained off screen. Of course we all know why now, but this for me was the heart of the story, the shit talking("His Girl Friday", in reverse) was just the icing on the cake. I like how Taylor and Burton defended each other in private, but could not stand each other in company. The couples really are mirror versions of each other, Sandy's hysterical pregnancy, and Liz's Hysterical everything. George Segal as the youthful "stud", which Burton's at least hectic childhood was denied. Its very theatrical, but in the best possible way.

It's about relationships and marriages sure, but it's also about the illusions we create around ourselves to function. Each character here has their public fascades destroyed and their private fears and anxieties made manifest. At first I thought's Burton's final act, was cruel and spiteful, and it was, but it was also the closest he could come to a true act of kindness. Taylor isnt afraid of Virginia Woolf, she's afraid of being alone, and having to live outside her fantasy, no matter how destructive it may be, and so is Burton. See how quickly Taylor makes George Segal, into her "houseboy", all these people have is their labels, the ones Sandy likes to pull of her bottles.

The direction and cinematography was awesome, the perfect blend of close ups, long takes, and handheld work, the scene in the bar and the scene with the gun being stand out particularly strong. The performances are also inspired, their the glue that holds this together(it being a play after all, and one Im glad I knew nothing about going in), and I especially liked that they characters played drunk genuinely well(not just in speech, but in posture and mannerism). Most on screen drunks, like on screen stoners smack of inscincerity and over-acting.

I could go on about this, but just see it yourself.