Interiors (1978)

"I wanted to go for the highest kind of drama. And if I failed, I failed. That's OK. But what I was aiming for, if I had made it, would have been very, very significant. I'm not saying that I made it, but the ambition was good, the ambition was high." -- Woody Allen

In 1978, Woody Allen released his first true dramatic film, Interiors. The recent success of Annie Hall - which had garnered Oscars for both Best Picture and Best Director the previous year - allowed Allen the complete artistic freedom he ultimately needed to make a film that was such a bold departure from anything he had ever done - or ever even hinted at. He used this newly won freedom to make the kind of film he had long wished - even dreamed - to someday attempt. Thus, drawing obvious inspiration from legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, Allen crafted a very slow-paced, quiet, European-style chamber drama focusing on the relationships within a single family. The film somewhat echoed Bergman's Cries and Whispers (and to a lesser extent Through a Glass Darkly), respecting the dramatic structures of these films and borrowing more than lightly from their stylistic mainstays.

The film was a complete about face for Allen's career, so far removed from anything he'd ever done in the past that many of his newly acquired fans were quickly put off by the radical change of style; many others didn't bother to see the movie at all. Having won so many new fans with Annie Hall (known in some quarters as the film that beat out Star Wars for Best Picture), he immediately challenged his newly found audience with something for which they had virtually no frame of reference for. And while some critics praised Allen (Vincent Camby perhaps most notable among them) and his attempt at a European style drama, many more attacked or even completely disregarded the film. They claimed - and somewhat rightfully so - that Interiors was precisely the type of intellectually based art film that Allen had poked various fun at earlier in his career. Long-time fans soon feared that success had made an egotistical intellectual out of their favorite comedian. Interiors, unlike any other Allen film to date, was completely devoid of music (with one sole exception), choosing long silences (a la Bergman) to fill its numerous gaps, as oppposed to music. In addition, the action of the film moves very slowly, very steadily and resolutely - and is almost entirely internally driven.

The film begins with the head of the family, Arthur (E.G. Marshall) deciding to leave his wife Eve. The three grown sisters, Joey (Mary Beth Hurt), Renata (Diane Keaton), and Flyn (Kristin Griffith), are forced to come to terms with their disintegrating family, and also with each other. The sisters are quite different from each other, and relate to each other in slightly different fashions. In addition, Allen shows us the psychological effect of the domineering mother on her three daughters, and on her estranged husband. Geraldine Page, as the stern yet suffering Eve, is absolutely amazing, able to capture the many complexities of the role, speaking volumes without often saying much. Page's somber performance allows Maureen Stapleton's vibrant role to appear all the more poignant. After leaving Eve, Arthur has taken up with Pearl (Stapleton), whose boisterous manner and bright red clothing contrast vividly with Eve's grim, dull appearance.

One of the most powerful, affecting scenes in any Allen film occurs when Arthur brings Pearl home to meet Eve and his daughters. For a writer and director with no experience whatsoever in the weighty dramatic material he was working with, Allen handles these important scenes with a beautiful touch, drawing rich performaces from all involved.

But in fact, there are several powerful scenes in Interiors which serve to demonstrate Allen's basic knack for crafting a story - no matter what the genre. The dialogue is true, important, and meaningful, and what's left unsaid throughout the film is often even more so. By the time we come to the haunting final scenes, as Eve begins her walk towards the ocean, we realize we are witnessing a truly astounding psychological film that is able to reach us on many levels. The fact that Allen had never even hinted at a film as halfway as heavy as Interiors perhaps makes it all the more extraordinary that he was able to so effectively pull it off.

Produced between two of Allen's most successful films (Annie Hall and Manhattan), Interiors is often forgotten or neglected in the mentioning of Allen's vast filmography, but it ultimately stands as one of the more important films he has ever made. While perhaps not as "entertaining" as the majority of his work, it is easily one of the most emotionally affecting. Don't cheat yourself, see this one in widescreen (available currently on DVD).

Release Date: August 2, 1978

Domestic Total Gross: $10,432,366

Distributor: United Artists

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