Review of The Madwoman of Chaillot

Katherine Hepburn is a free-spirited Parisian countess out to save the world (literally) in this absurdist farce that doesn't really work. She plays a dreamer snapped into reality by the have-nots in her neighborhood and declares war on the "establishment" (embodied by a group of wealthy creeps looking to dig for oil beneath Paris). Although it's not very successfully sewn together by director Bryan Forbes, there are vignettes that are wonderful and Edward Anhalt's script contains many witty lines. Unfortunately, the film is too often draggy (if not outright boring). It's really too bad that there's not more substance here. The cast is enormous but the fact that Donald Pleasence, Yul Brynner, Charles Boyer, Danny Kaye and many others are involved merely make for a far too densely populated film. That doesn't mean that the performances are bad. In fact, Hepburn is quite touching realizing that in order to stop dreaming, she has to wake up! It's also fun watching her share the screen with the likes of Boyer, Margaret Leighton and others. Pleasence, Brynner and Kaye are exceptional as is Giulietta Masina (as Hepburn's flighty, lovelorn friend). Ultimately, Forbes is simply not a particularly imaginative director. The pacing of the film is very slow, especially in its last quarter. The interiors are drably put together, but, thanks to some great cinematography by Claude Renoir and Burnett Guffey, the exterior scenes are mostly stunning.