Frances

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Zorba the Greek

 SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

Despite the film’s title character, who relishes living life to the fullest, Zorba the Greek (1964) is shot in black and white (despite the poster being in color). It seems ironic since that choice downplays the variety that the film says existence offers. The opening has Basil (Alan Bates), a nerdish Englishman with a very British name, trying to protect his books stored in a wicker trunk from the rain falling in Greece. From this image one can quickly see that up to this point his interests have relied on vicariously experiencing the world through his readings. He is there because he has inherited a mine on the island of Crete, and he has decided that it was time to venture out into the world. 

Waiting for the storm to end so he can travel to the island, Basil stays in the waiting area for the ferry. IMDb notes that the collection of individuals huddled together are representative of various members of Greek society, including the peasantry and the clergy. Basil sees Zorba (Anthony Quinn, in a career-defining performance) outside in the rain looking through a window. The shot depicts him as a social outsider, or at least someone different from the other members of the community. He behaves contrary to accepted norms. He is observant because he noticed that Basil had many belongings, so he will be staying for an extended period. He asks that Basil take him along with him. When Basil asks why, Zorba says that people always want to know the reason for things instead of just doing something “for the hell of it.” Zorba is not one to contemplate the reasons for acting, but instead relies on his passions. 

 

Zorba says Basil is English despite his being half-Greek. Apparently, one must be fully Greek to be considered eligible to fit in as a fellow countryman. Zorba relies on his physical instincts instead of his mental abilities, since he says that his hands and feet tell him what jobs to do, so his head has no reason to disagree with them. He admits that he was an excellent miner, but he beat up the boss and was fired, stressing his sometimes aggressive nonconformity. He then laughs exuberantly, disturbing those present, which adds to his role as a rebel. Basil is feeling increasingly uncomfortable because of this stranger’s intrusiveness. He attempts to distance himself from Zorba by saying he will check as to the situation with the ferry. However, Basil then capitulates to social norms because he doesn’t want to appear rude. So, he invites Zorba to join him.

 Basil tells Zorba that he is a writer of poetry and essays. Zorba’s comment to Basil is, “you think too much.” Here we have the dynamic between these two men, where one is cerebral and the other physical. Zorba says people like Basil ponder over everything, wasting time as it were, thus short-changing the time one has to enjoy life. However, Zorba confesses that one of his nicknames is “epidemic,” because he has a tendency to “louse” things up. So, the implication is that appetites that have no boundaries on being satisfied can lead to negative outcomes.  Is Zorba drawn to Basil purely for opportunistic reasons? Does he want to convert him to his way of life? Or, could Zorba have a subconscious attraction to that civilized aspect of Basil that compliments the chaotic parts of life? 

 

Basil asks Zorba if he has clothes in his satchel. Zorba says Basil asks “sensible” questions, again stressing the Englishman’s rational stance. Zorba is not carrying anything practical, but instead has a string instrument called a santouri. Despite their differences, both men are artistic, since Basil creates poetry and Zorba makes music. But Basil hasn’t written in a while, and instead is traveling to Crete to resurrect a mine his father left him but Basil let stay dormant. He says he “must” do this act, and it’s as if he is also resuscitating that part of himself that is Greek so he can be part of the land instead of isolated in his intellectual seclusion.

 

Basil has no experience in the mining industry, and Zorba already noted that he worked in mines. So, Basil goes a little “mad” as he says, a bit off his mental script, and decides to hire Zorba to help him out. He also says that they will have fun, so it appears that Zorba is already having an influence on the nerdish Basil. But Zorba says when it comes to his playing and singing music, he must be free to do as he wishes. Basil agrees to this “bargain” between them. They drink to their partnership, and Basil sips rum despite his preference for tea. He toasts “God,” but Zorba includes “the devil,” which suggests that the two sides of people combine to form human nature.

 

The boat that takes them to Crete suffers a choppy crossing, and the people careen back and forth. But it almost looks as if they are dancing, as if art can be extracted from chaos. It is unexpected that it is Zorba who feels seasick. He becomes queasy when he watches a woman, who seems to be flirting with him, eating. Maybe he has this sudden queasiness because his appetites have been indulged too often. Basil asks him if he is married, and there is some misogyny in his answer as he says he had a wife, family and a house, calling it “the full catastrophe.” When Basil says he is single, Zorba attributes the absence of marital involvement to spending time with “too many books,” which for Zorba denies physical interaction with women.

 

They arrive at the impoverished village where Basil’s land is located. The townspeople are excited at the arrival of the owner, most likely hoping for some financial gain due to the reopening of the mine. Mavrandoni (Giorgos Foundas) has been overseeing the property in the absence of Basil’s family. Madame Hortense (Lila Kedrova, winning a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role) is a middle-aged French woman who owns the Hotel Ritz (a poor version of the elite spot in Paris) and wants Basil to stay there. She is exuberant about getting herself ready to meet the newcomers and she is flamboyant, indulging in clothes, music, and dancing that fits her personality. She stresses that she was once a performer in many chic cabarets, which shows her as someone who may prefer living in the past. 

 

Zorba becomes a mentor in hedonistic ways to Basil and tries to get him to dance with Madame Hortense. She says that she was involved with four admirals from different countries. Their beards smelled of distinctly different perfumes so she could tell them apart, even in the dark, which suggests that she knew with whom she was intimate with at any given time. She tells a tale of how she used her influence to stop a military confrontation and was outraged that she received no credit for her efforts. While she is telling her story, Basil keeps trying to contain his laughter due to her melodramatic rendition. Hortense sees Basil’s reaction and runs to her bedroom, upset by the lack of acknowledgment of her perceived prior accomplishments. The men follow and Zorba tries to console her as she talks about how the war ended and the four admirals then left her after a night of lovemaking that combined all of their perfumes. She is a woman who is as earthy as Zorba, whether or not she is a reliable narrator of her tales, and Zorba waves Basil out of the room so Zorba and she can consummate their physical passions.

 

The next scene involves many of the local men capturing a goat that belongs to a “Widow” (Irene Papas), who comes looking for her animal. She is beautiful and dressed in black, and Zorba has already boasted about his ability to charm widows. The men at first hide the goat and then attempt to keep it from the Widow. Goats are a traditional symbol for male lust, and there is an atmosphere of sexual harassment here. The usually bawdy Zorba however does not like what is happening and rescues the goat with a disapproving look at the male villagers. As she exits, the Widow spits on the floor to show her disgust for the men who tormented her. Zorba gives her the goat and Basil also shows compassion for the woman as he hands her his umbrella to protect her from the pouring rain. She softens her face and gives him a smile.

 

There is a young man, Pavlo (Yorgo Voyagis), who is very upset about what has happened and he runs out of the building. Mavrondoni is Pavlo’s father and Zorba quietly tells Basil that the man is incensed because his son is in love with the Widow. Zorba says that if Basil looks at all of the men he will see that they all “want” the Widow sexually, without love, and are angry that they cannot have her. Zorba says the only man there who can have the Widow is Basil, based on her reaction to him. Zorba really knows how to read a room. 

 

Basil calls the idea “rubbish.” Zorba urges him to pursue the woman, calling God a “crafty devil,” an interesting contradiction in terms. implying that God is a schemer who allows for carnal satisfaction while advocating abstinence. Zorba says the deity gives a man hands to grab hold of life. They walk past the Widow’s house and Basil, in response to Zorba’s telling him to knock on her door, says he doesn’t want any “trouble.” Zorba expresses his belief that playing it safe is not really living. He says, “Life is trouble. Only death is not. To be alive is to undo your belt and look for trouble.” The “belt” represents restriction of freedom, as well as referring to having sex. But Basil is not ready for such bold action.

 

Zorba leads the townspeople in singing as they head with Basil to work in his mine. Basil was dressed in a suit and tie earlier and still wears dressy clothes even at the work site, which shows how different his origins are compared to the marginally clothed workers. He starts to get himself dirty as he pitches in with the heavy work needed to secure the mine from cave-ins. Some do occur and somehow Zorba survives them, chastising the other workers for running as soon as there is a rumble of noise. The kinder and gentler Basil is grateful no one was hurt, and is not the “capitalist” that Zorba says he needs to be, which suggests some ruthlessness is a requirement to be successful in business.

 

Zorba finds out that the trees on the side of the mountain belong to a monastery, and he hatches a plan to harvest them. He reddens his face and surprises a couple of the priests who think they saw the devil. After scaring them, Zorba washes his face, then leaves branches in the form of a cross and places the religious object in a large jug of wine, possibly to show God is still there to protect the monks. The clergymen indulge themselves in this heavenly gift, and Zorba ingratiates himself with them by joining in their celebration. 

 

Zorba returns to Basil warning the Englishmen that Zorba is basically a wild card that could ruin him. But Basil says he’ll take that “chance.” Zorba brightens at Basil’s words since it shows that Basil’s “courage” is emerging, and it is contagious. Zorba starts to dance to the point of exhaustion, which he says is necessary when a man is “full” and needs to let out that fullness or else he will “burst.” He then relates how he deals with life’s horrors. He says that when his three-year-old son died Zorba danced, and although others called him “mad,” (that word is repeated in the film) he says it was the only way to ease the “pain.” It is not mourning that helps Zorba deal with death, but instead it is feeling alive that sustains him. 

 

Zorba makes a model of the mountain out of sand and tells Basil he has made friends with the monks who own the mountain. He wants to bring the trees down on suspended cables to help reinforce the mine and eventually to build ships. He says they can have their own ship and sail around the world. Basil wonders if he is moving ahead too “fast” with his vision. Zorba says it’s a lie that the older a person gets he welcomes death as a means to rest. He says that he has “enough fight in me to devour the world.” The image he uses is one of appetite for physical satisfaction. He says he has little time, suggesting that he wants to drain all he can out of mother earth, and he probably sees Basil as the means to reach his goal. Basil gives him until Christmas to enact his plan, as if it is a gift that can then be unwrapped.

 

After Zorba tries to discover the right angle to set up his conveyance system on the mountain, he visits Basil’s room and discovers, despite Basil’s attempts at concealment, that the Widow sent his umbrella back to him along with Christmas cookies. Of course, Zorba wants Basil to press his advantage with the woman. Zorba says that to not go with a woman to bed if she invites him is an unforgivable sin. He says a Turk told him this fact. Basil points out that Greeks and Turks don’t talk to each other, they only fight, and there is nothing wrong with fighting for one's country. Zorba’s life has caused him to become cynical about patriotism. He tells Basil that the Englishman only knows what his brain tells him, but his body is “dumb.” Zorba seems to be saying that Basil never actually experienced war, only read about it, and so is not truly knowledgeable. Zorba points to scars on his body and says he did horrible things in war, and now only evaluates people as individuals, not citizens of nations. In the end even what one does in life, whether for good or bad, results only in death, and each person turns into “food for worms.” We have already heard how Zorba wants to keep death away from him as much as possible. 

 

Zorba’s attitude toward women wavers between sexism and compassion. He says that they are “weak creatures” that give everything they have if a man places a hand on a female breast. It’s a cringe-worthy attitude in our present day. Zorba and Basil visit Hortense and Zorba gives her a drawing he made of her in the image of a mermaid in control of her four admirals. But Madame Hortense looks run down and confesses to Basil that at her age, “one is never well.” Zorba chases her around the room to tickle her, but she falls, showing how she can’t share Zorba’s defiance against the ravages of time. Zorba tries to give her hope saying that there is a doctor who can make her feel like she is in her twenties again, and Zorba will get some of his medicine for her. He is desperate not to capitulate to the inevitability of human mortality. Hortense talks about how she was in various parts of the world when she was younger and mentions her former lovers. Hortense is tired, and Basil tucks her in so she can rest. She tells Zorba that in her dreams she is twenty again. Zorba is jealous of her past romances and is disappointed that she spoiled his plans with her for the evening. He is cruel by dismissing her as a “dirty old cow,” which is again a way of distancing him from aging and death.

 

Outside, the church bells ring, announcing the start of Christmas Eve mass and Basil wants to attend. Zorba is frustrated, saying that Basil is wasting his youthful energy. Basil declares that he is different from Zorba and must go his own way, which shows the desire for personal freedom. But Zorba thinks he is denying life’s offerings. He alters the focus of Christianity on the spiritual and moves it to the carnal by dismissing the idea of the virgin birth and says that if Joseph didn’t have sex with Mary there would be no Jesus. For Zorba, salvation comes from indulging one’s passions. As Basil heads for the church, Zorba’s witty line is, “On a deaf man’s door, you can knock forever,” illustrating how he can’t get through to Basil.

 

By using his mountain model, Zorba believes he has found the right angle to carry the trees. Basil gives him all the money he can afford to buy and return the supplies necessary for the job. Zorba is dismissive of Hortense as he sets off on his errand, even as she asks that he remember her. Basil consoles her like a gentleman again, this time offering a parasol to protect her from the sun as he used an umbrella to shield the Widow from the rain.

Basil encounters the Widow on the road, but only nods toward her, not making any overture despite her sending him the cookies. It shows his reticence in engaging in anything that resembles Zorba’s sexual aggressiveness. But, she has shown an interest, and he is on the verge of allowing a missed opportunity to enjoy life in other than an intellectual way. 

 In contrast, Zorba, who was supposed to buy the supplies and return quickly, is out on the town, and is miffed when the young bar woman named Lola (Eleni Anousaki) at a club calls him grandpa. He uses Basil’s money to order champagne and buy her a whole basket of flowers to win her attention. She follows him out of the club and they spend the night in a hotel. Zorba sends a letter back to Basil about what has transpired, and Basil is very angry, writing a letter telling him to return immediately. Zorba’s desire to live life to the fullest does not take into account his age. Thus, he acts in a pathetic and unethical manner, using someone else’s funds selfishly to obtain physical pleasure and buying attention to boost his ego, while at the same time scorning death by taking up with a young woman.

 

Hortense has heard that Zorba sent a letter, but she has vision troubles (literally and figuratively, since she can’t see Zorba’s varying dedication to her), so she is unable to read it. Basil, the man of compassion, is unable to tell her of Zorba’s sexual escapades, so he invents language that expresses Zorba’s missing Hortense, and his desire to be with her forever. Hortense is ready to prepare for a wedding, and it is sad to observe her delusion as she asks Basil to witness the nuptials. 

 

Basil has a Hamlet moment, trying to make himself commit to taking action. He starts to mimic Zorba a little by doing dance moves and strumming the santouri. Basil no longer looks prim and proper. He appears more like one of the Greek peasants now, with an open shirt, ruffled hair, and an unshaven face. It appears as if the Greek part of him is trying to win over his personality. The young Pavlo is at the Widow’s home in the dark as she sings a song. She sees him and he has a love letter for her, but she tells him to go away. He tosses his letter to her but then leaves as the dog barks and his father, Mavrondoni, approaches. The Widow throws the letter at Mavrondoni’s feet, and Pavlo tries to get it away from his father before he reads his son’s professions of love for the woman. Mavrondoni then smacks his son. There is a strange kind of jealousy over the same woman going on here which fuels this conflict between the two. 

 Basil finally commits and visits the Widow, who has a gun handy because she realizes the sexual danger she may find herself in. But after seeing Basil, she opens her door to him, which can be a metaphor for allowing herself to being physically approachable when it comes to Basil. The two go to her bedroom, but she begins to cry, most likely because she is overwhelmed with emotion at the loss of intimacy since losing her husband. Basil thinks he has caused her to be upset and is ready to leave, but she tells him to stay. They kiss passionately. At first Basil seems unsure as to whether he should continue, and the Widow then feels vulnerable at exposing her nakedness to him. But he shows his affection for her by hugging her and they go to bed. All of this loving communication is through body language since they don’t know each other’s language, which shows how genuine are their feelings for each other that they transcend obstacles. 

 

Some of the men of the town are with Pavlo who, fittingly, is playing solitaire, which echoes his loneliness. (Don’t these men have any other women on the island to connect with?) They whisper to him, supposedly telling him that Basil is with the Widow. They send Pavlo into a jealous panic, probably because they can’t have the Widow, as Zorba said, and so want to cause her anguish. But, instead of going to the Widow’s house, Pavlo, devastated by the news that the one he loves is with another man, drowns himself. They carry the youth’s body past the Widow’s house, and begin to throw rocks at it, as if she is the cause of Pavlo's death. 

 

Zorba returns and has gifts for everyone, including Hortense. Basil says he better have a wedding gown for her and he admits he couldn’t hurt the woman by telling her what Zorba was really up to. Zorba is not happy about this fact, but he says he has the supplies they need to carry out his plan. Zorba looks silly as he dyed his hair dark so Lola would not feel embarrassed about being with an older man, another attempt at trying to stay young despite the facts of life. Basil can’t stay angry at the “incorrigible” Zorba as he is amused by his shenanigans, but he still feels inhibited about saying where he was the night before. 

 

The Widow tries to attend Pavlo’s funeral but is blocked by Mavrondoni. The townspeople, led by the men, chase, surround, and throw stones at the Widow, and Mavrondoni gives the order to have her killed. This attributing men's problems to the seductive power of women goes back all the way to Adam and Eve, which shows how the demonization of women is so entrenched, and how men do not take responsibility for their own actions. Basil can’t break through the crowd to reach the Widow, and sends word to Zorba, who arrives and wrestles the knife out of the hand of the man ordered to kill the Widow. Zorba may take advantage of women’s desires for his own purposes, but he obviously wants to prevent violence against them after seeing and being part of it during his time fighting a war. He tries to lead her away from the crowd, but Mavrondoni grabs her and cuts her throat, killing her. This scene reminds me of the movie Psycho, which shows how men lust for women, then feel degraded by that desire, especially if it is thwarted, and subsequently penetrate women violently with knives instead of with their sexual organs. Apparently, the town allows this atrocity to take place without retribution. The scene of the Widow’s death is very traumatizing for the viewer, and what follows seems almost anti-climactic. The scene shows the clash between restricted and unrestricted behavior, which is at the center of the story. 

 

Later Zorba is angry about why people die, especially the young, and he tells Basil that despite all of his books and learning, he can’t answer that question. Basil only offers that books talk of men agonizing over death. Zorba’s response is, “I spit on their agony!” Zorba sees no help in self-indulgent ruminating about the loss of others without an explanation for why it happens. Also, one would expect that Basil would appear more emotionally affected by the death of the Widow.

 

Hortense shows up on the porch of Basil’s cabin where she has been waiting in the cold for Zorba. She is angry that she has been made a fool of since she thought he planned to marry her. Zorba says quietly to Basil that he started this problem. Zorba goes along with the marriage scenario, saying he has commissioned a wedding dress made with pearls and gold. Once he gets started on his tales he keeps ramping up the exaggerations. He even agrees to becoming engaged. Zorba is used to charming his way out of situations by not being necessarily honest.

 

It is now Easter, and Hortense has become ill. Zorba tends to her, again trying to spare her any anxiety by saying she only has a cold. Knowing Hortense will die soon, the impoverished villagers are like vultures, ready to take her belongings before the government has access to her estate. She does pass away, and the residents shamelessly ransack her hotel. Zorba rescues her pet parrot since that is all he can do. He tells Basil that there will be no typical burial because Hortense was a “Frank” which does not allow her to qualify for an Eastern Orthodox burial. Zorba says it doesn’t matter to her since she is dead, but he is very sullen since death is something he can’t reconcile himself with. 

 

There is a large event with many people to witness Zorba’s plan to deliver the trees down the mountain. It turns out to be a disaster, with the lumber supports collapsing under the increasing velocity of the descending timber. Despite the failure, Zorba and Basil enjoy food and drink meant to celebrate their success. Zorba realizes that Basil will return to England and feels that despite Basil’s reassurances, they will not see each other again. He tells Basil that the only thing the Englishman lacks is “madness,” which he says a man needs or else, “he never dares cut the rope and be free.” For Zorba, the real insanity is to tie oneself up in a conforming way of life, trading in courageous adventure for security based on fear.

 Basil finally gives in to not worrying about appearing foolish and asks Zorba to teach him how to dance. Zorba laughs at what a “splendiferous” mess their project was. Basil joins him in joy at the madness of their endeavor as they dance on the beach. The world according to Zorba seems to say that no matter what one does it is better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.

The next film is Belle de Jour.

Nuts

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Given the current revelations about sexual assault and harassment occurring in the world of show business and politics, I decided to analyze this 1987 film which explores warped male actions toward a woman and by doing so reveals a great deal about how many men perceive females.

Martin Ritt was a good choice to direct this motion picture since he explored female empowerment in Norma Rae. This story opens with women herded like cattle in jail cells awaiting arraignment. They are literally incarcerated, but they are also symbolically imprisoned by men for not playing the female roles that men have delineated for them. That digressing from the outwardly appropriate norms of behavior particularly fits the main character, Claudia Draper (Barbra Streisand). She is a high-priced call girl who has been arrested for the first degree manslaughter of one of her clients. As she is led to the courtroom, the male prisoners yell out suggestive remarks, and we see Claudia recalling how she had a visual sexual assessment when she walked through a classy restaurant. The two views show how men, no matter the social situation, universally treat women in a sexually demeaning fashion.

We get a hint of Claudia’s problems with her parents when she demands that the court address her by using her married name, Draper. She is aggressive vocally and argumentative, interrupting preliminary court proceedings and questioning the actions of the expensive lawyer hired by her mother, Rose (Maureen Stapleton) and her stepfather, Arthur Kirk (Karl Malden). The judge and the lawyers ignore her as if she is not to speak unless spoken to. The prosecutor says that the psychiatrist gave the opinion that Claudia is incompetent to stand trial because she doesn’t understand the charges against her and can’t participate in her own defense. What the male-dominated system is doing is preventing her from having her day in court. She does not behave in the proper demure and submissive fashion dictated by the men in charge. Thus, they must remove her from society. She could have continued to perform as a prostitute as long as it wasn’t brought to the attention of polite society. But, as soon as she attacked a male, who was abusive toward her, the situation is brought into the light of day, and the ruling males must then punish her for revealing harmful male tendencies.

Because Claudia would not agree to a charge of criminally negligent homicide, her lawyer argues that she should be considered incompetent. The irony here is that the family and the lawyers appear to want to protect Claudia from having to go to prison. In their minds they are acting in her best interests, but they do so by presupposing that she is not innocent of the crime of which she is accused, but instead proposing that she is mentally unstable. They assume that her lifestyle and nonconformist behavior requires the need to separate her from other “normal” people. Claudia’s response is to punch out her defense attorney.

A public defender by the name of Aaron Levinsky (Richard Dreyfuss) happens to be in court during Claudia’s arraignment. He doesn’t want to have anything initially to do with the case after the assaulted defense lawyer quits. But the judge assigns him to Claudia’s case. After a quick review of the records, and because the judge bullied him into taking the job, he decides to challenge the motion to designate Claudia as incompetent to be tried. On his way to question Claudia at the jail, we see colored lines painted on the floor informing people where to get to different locations. It may appear helpful, but it also shows the linear, regimented thinking of how the established authority enforces control over others. Levinsky runs into the state appointed psychiatrist, Dr. Morrison (Eli Wallach), and verifies that Morrison said in his report that Claudia acted “flagrantly sexual.” This phrase condemns Claudia for breaking the rules that men have established about how a woman should act publicly when it comes to sex. This attitude is affirmed by the Latino psychiatrist who says that Claudia is passionate, which is okay in the bedroom, but not outside of it.

In Levinsky’s first meeting with Claudia, she shows contempt for psychiatrists (although Streisand plays an admirable one in The Prince of Tides). She is initially quiet, but when Levinsky asks if she can talk, she says what role does she want her to play. Should she juggle, dance, do card tricks? She says, “What kind of show do I have to put on for you?” Her statement points to the way men force women to play the roles they dictate for them, as opposed to trying to understand the person behind these fronts. She is basically saying that the traditional expectation of men is to have women amuse and entertain them, which denies who they are as complete persons, with their own personalities and aspirations. Claudia immediately delves into Levinsky’s personal life, asking about being married and if his wife is good in bed. She puts her legs up on the table in front of him and spreads them. In a way, she is exaggerating what men expect of women sexually, and is testing Levinsky to see how he will react. He admits to his sexual inclinations and is not like Morrison, who Claudia sees as sexually inauthentic. Levinsky is honest in his responses about how his marriage has had its problems. Claudia wants to expose how the upright appearances of men are deceiving, because under the veneer of respectability lies the selfish need to objectify and possess women to satisfy lustful urges no matter the damage done to the females they desire. Her argumentative ways and in-your-face- sexual references make the audience uncomfortable, which in a way, indicts the viewer for having accepted the male prescribed norms of how women should behave.

When Levinsky mentions that her mother cares about what happens to her, Claudia curses her mother. We again get an indication that there was something in Claudia’s upbringing that points to Claudia not believing Rose is the motherly protector she seems to be. Despite Claudia’s wanting to put everything out in the open, she is not ready to reveal the secrets about the harm done to her in her childhood. She does win Levinsky over as he concedes the possibility that the psychiatric impression that she is incompetent is wrong. She is then willing to go over her case with him. In a subsequent conversation with the prosecuting attorney, MacMillan (Robert Webber), Levinsky says that he has an aunt who is crazier than Claudia, and she is the president of her PTA. Levinsky is acknowledging Claudia’s argument that supposedly proper behavior can be deceiving. A later scene in the psychiatric ward makes this point as Levinsky is fooled by a woman who is a patient, but who pretends to be a visiting psychoanalyst, and who is more insightful than the “legitimate” psychiatrists. Levinsky says the woman seemed so “normal.” Like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and The Shawshank Redemption, here again we have the inmates making more sense than those in charge. Thus the title of the film may be asking who are the people who are really “nuts.”

We get a scene which reveals Dr. Morrison’s phony pretense of wanting to help Claudia. In a session with her he says that she needs treatment because everyone has impulses, but that society requires that the individual control them. “Control” is the operative word here. His putting her in restraints at various times and sedating her is symbolic of the male urge for domination over the female. At no time does he really try to understand Claudia as an individual with a problematic history. He just wants her to comply with what he sees as the proper female pattern of behavior. She is flirtatious with him in order to try to get him to admit his repression of carnal impulses which surfaces as vindictiveness toward an overtly sexual woman. He says he wants to put “order” in her life, but she says that there is no order in life. She essentially believes that disorder is the norm and people try to impose order on the world. Some overcompensate out of a fear of chaos with that urge to control others (like the character of Beth in Ordinary People?). Claudia suggests that Dr. Morrison is one of those zealous control freaks, and may be why he works in a prison, the idea of putting people in cells being particularly appealing to him.

Levinsky’s visit to Claudia’s apartment is revealing. He sees pictures of her mother, which shows she has not totally written her parent off. She has many books, which indicates her intellectual side. There is also a stuffed animal, implying that she retains a childlike quality, and maybe the wish to recreate a better childhood. There is also a Jack-in-a-box toy, which suggests Claudia’s penchant to surprise others with her blunt nature to upset the status quo, but which shows that there may be a vulnerable, youthful side to her inside. Levinsky goes through her clothing to pick out an outfit for Claudia’s court appearance. He has not asked her permission to go through her things, especially her underwear, and in this way, he is acting like a controlling male. She is angry at him for his transgression. He realizes his mistake, and has the decency to apologize.

Levinsky’s impropriety triggers the memory of the man she killed, Allen Green (Leslie Nielsen), and we get the story of why Claudia was arrested. Allen, who appeared to be upstanding, goes through her clothes, acting as if he owns Claudia because he has purchased her sexual services. He wants to stay after having sex and becomes angry and possessive when she has another appointment. He then is verbally abusive, and says she is acting like his wife. He displays the dual attitudes many men have toward women. On the one hand they want females to act socially respectable in public, as a wife is supposed to appear, but they secretly want them to surrender to masculine sexual manipulation. However, they then condemn them for acting slutty. Allen, like many other men, have created the prostitution business to indulge their sexual fantasies, but are ashamed of their unholy drives, and then project their guilt on the women they sought to indulge them. When Claudia resists Allen, he becomes violent, trying to exert his controlling power, and is angry at being rejected. He tries to strangle Claudia, and in the struggle, the bathroom mirror is broken. Claudia is able to grab a shard, and stabs Allen in the carotid area, killing him (possibly an act of vengeful reverse penetration?).

Claudia’s mother testifies that her husband left them and she married Arthur Kirk around the time that Claudia was five years old. Claudia began to exhibit rebellious behavior, including cutting her hair off (to make herself appear less attractive?), but also being promiscuous. Claudia also stopped wanting to kiss or touch her mother. So, she showed conflicting feelings about wanting affection. Claudia, trying to protect her mother despite her anger toward her, denies Levinsky the chance to question her. When her stepfather takes the stand, he acts like he tried to help the young Claudia get over her fear and vulnerability after being abandoned by her father. He says he tried to reward good behavior by giving her money. Thus we see how little girls are trained to get rewards by acting the way the male role model expects. While Kirk is on the stand, Levinsky sees Claudia making illustrations of people who have no mouths. He quietly says the words “speak no evil.” He knows that despite Claudia’s frankness, she and her family are hiding something. He asks Kirk that if he was what he called himself, Claudia’s “champion,” why did she exhibit what Kirk would consider to be abnormal behavior. Kirk can’t explain it, since he always doted on her, including giving Claudia baths. Levinsky now sees what is going on and presses Kirk on this behavior, and the stepfather becomes very defensive when Levinsky wants to know at what age did the bathing stop. Claudia finally blurts out that it went on until she was sixteen years old. We get flashbacks of young Claudia in the tub showing anxiety as the bathroom door handle turns. Kirk would slip money under the door to let him in. We now see how she was abused as a youth and that the money for sexual favors primed Claudia for a career as a prostitute. Rose says she didn’t know, but Claudia says, “No, you didn’t want to know.” Her mother’s self-denial allowed the abuse because she would not face the ugliness of her husband’s aberration.

Claudia, when she takes the stand, says that women legally prostitute themselves all the time. She knows women who married rich men they disliked so they could drive Mercedes cars. Even though she doesn’t admit it, her mother, Rose, may have married the well-to-do Kirk for financial security. At least Claudia is honest about what she does, and she lists how much she is paid for her sexual acts, making the prosecutor embarrassed, but also intrigued as he does not interrupt her. Claudia thus reveals the hypocrisy of male behavior. Claudia later tells Levinsky that she didn’t stop her stepfather because as a girl she just wanted to be loved. Levinsky tells Claudia not to blame herself. The implication is that all children are vulnerable because they want to be loved.

Levinsky angrily confronts Dr. Morrison who has drugged Claudia because he says, falsely, that it is to calm her. In reality he is trying to undermine Claudia’s testimony by impairing her ability to show that she is competent to stand trial. However, Claudia is able to quote the law and argue that if she is not declared competent to have a trial then the authorities could keep her medically institutionalized indefinitely without her ever being allowed to be acquitted of the charges brought against her. The male condescension of the prosecutor is evident as he assumes he can call her Claudia, but she will have none of that, and insists that he address her as Mrs. Draper (she is divorced, her personality and her upbringing not being conducive to a successful marriage and family life. For example, she says she once had an abortion because “she didn’t believe in childhood.”). MacMillan tries to paint her as a paranoid by trying to get her to admit that there is a conspiracy against her. But Claudia is quite lucid as she says of Dr. Morrison, “I’m sure he believes what he believes. He thinks whores are girls who hang out on 8th Avenue and stick needles in their arms. He knows whores aren’t nice white girls from nice white families.” But women go off and have affairs all the time, while pretending to comply with their proper status as faithful wives in society. Her argument is that because she doesn’t fit into the prejudicial pattern of preconceived notions of which women are relegated to unacceptable female behavior that she must, of course, be a mentally deranged.

While the judge goes out to deliberate, Claudia’s mother shows true emotion and says that she hopes her daughter wins the case. Now when Rose says she loves her daughter, Claudia can see that it is not just a phrase that people say for appearance sake. They are able to hug and show genuine feelings for each other.

The judge, Stanley Murdoch (James Whitmore), is convinced that Claudia understands the charges against her and can participate in her own defense. She is set free until the trial. The last shot is of her walking freely in the streets among the other citizens. She sees one man who has obvious mental problems as he looks up into the sky, talking to himself. The shot stresses the unfairness of a society that would let obviously mentally ill people on the street, but would question a woman’s sanity because she does not conform to the imposed male rules about sexual behavior.

The next film is The Man Who Wasn’t There.