Coming Apart (1969)

Psychiatrist installs a concealed movie camera in his apartment to record the screwed-up lives of the women who visit him.

Director:

Milton Moses Ginsberg

Writer:

Milton Moses Ginsberg

Stars:

Rip Torn, Sally Kirkland, Robert Blankshine

Cast

Cast overview:
Rip Torn	...	Joe
Sally Kirkland	...	Joann
Robert Blankshine	...	Sarabell
Darlene Cotton	...	Sue
Phoebe Dorin	...	Karen
Julie Garfield	...	Julie
Lois Markle	...	Elaine
Megan McCormick	...	Joy
Nancy MacKay	...	Amy
Michael McGuire	...	Ted
Kevin O'Connor	...	Armand
Jane Marla Robbins	...	Lois
Lynn Swan	...	Anita
Joanna Vischer	...	Marilyn
Viveca Lindfors	...	Monica

Storyline

Joe is a psychiatrist who puts a hidden camera behind his couch, facing a wall sized mirror in order to document a number of women who come and go. Obsessed with a former lover, Joe intends to perform and record an "experiment in contemporary sexual aberration." In the process, Joe documents his own mental breakdown as well as a number of sexually volatile encounters with the women who come to see him.

---

Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | hidden camera | apartment | couch | mental breakdown | 

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 July 2004 (France)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kaleidoscope Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Joe: You stink, you smell! You screw everybody! You fuck everybody! Don't You ever bathe?

---

Connections

References Purple Noon (1960)

User Reviews

This is the sort of cinematic stunt that has to be seen to be believed!

Rip Torn is a psychiatrist who places a hidden camera on a shelf across from his sofa. There's a wall sized mirror behind the sofa which is how we see the rest of the place. Then we watch as various women come and go, including one who has a cleavage full of cigarette burns. The idea is that he is having a breakdown and documenting it as well as documenting these women who also happen to be patients.

But no amount of verbiage can describe this movie. It truly has to be seen to be believed. With such first rate actors as Torn, Kirkland and Lindfors, the picture is never actually excruciating because it's quite something to watch them go through their paces.

So if you are ever given the chance to see "Coming Apart," my advice is don't miss it. Feature length stunts like this are, for better or worse, few and far between.