I would say even better than The Apartment, in that her character was both very complex, thoroughly explored, and realistic. I was not that impressed by her role in Terms Of Endearment, because her character seemed too simplistic. Not so in Used People. In the beginning, her husband of many years finally comes home and dances with her. The dance was interrupted by an unknown distraction, and all of a sudden that magical moment was seen as just a brief attempt at romance in years of a boring marriage. This scene showed that she did not know whether she really loved, or even knew her husband. She assumed he was a decent man, but their lives had been too routine for so long and he was often not home. Her great moment when her reserve is finally broken when her daughter argues with her and declares that she is moving to California. Also, when this Italian stranger tries to woo her, claiming that he knew her late husband she does not trust him at all. She lives in her own community, and does not buy all his charms. I have always had feelings that MacLaine is okay, but the characters she played prior to this movie did not have a lot of depth to me (except for perhaps in The Apartment). This role clearly showed that she can play complex characters well.
The earthiness of the movie works well. It is not flashy like Moonstruck was. Liked Moonstruck, but this movie was more down to earth and about people who were not flashy. It is very difficult to make a movie about ordinary people, and I think when the filmmaker realized that the movie was too earthy that the movie became forced to be pepped up. I think that detracted from the movie. Instead of Marcello Mastroianni, an internationally renowned Italian actor, maybe should have cast a local actor. Mastroianni was great. He showed that he could play a totally different character than usual, but still might have cast someone less well known. The problem with the Kathy Bates character is for some reason I didn't connect that she was the daughter until about two-thirds of the way into the film. Maybe that was my not paying attention, but it seemed like her character was just there until the last part of the film. Suddenly, she is running off to California and it is only then that her character comes to life. Also, the other daughter, played by Marcia Gay Harden. It seemed a bit overly dramatic her problems and how she related to her son. All in all, it was a pretty good film, with some flaws.
The earthiness of the movie works well. It is not flashy like Moonstruck was. Liked Moonstruck, but this movie was more down to earth and about people who were not flashy. It is very difficult to make a movie about ordinary people, and I think when the filmmaker realized that the movie was too earthy that the movie became forced to be pepped up. I think that detracted from the movie. Instead of Marcello Mastroianni, an internationally renowned Italian actor, maybe should have cast a local actor. Mastroianni was great. He showed that he could play a totally different character than usual, but still might have cast someone less well known. The problem with the Kathy Bates character is for some reason I didn't connect that she was the daughter until about two-thirds of the way into the film. Maybe that was my not paying attention, but it seemed like her character was just there until the last part of the film. Suddenly, she is running off to California and it is only then that her character comes to life. Also, the other daughter, played by Marcia Gay Harden. It seemed a bit overly dramatic her problems and how she related to her son. All in all, it was a pretty good film, with some flaws.
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