Puzzle of a Downfall Child (1970)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Jerry Schatzberg

Writers:

Carole Eastman (screenplay)
Carole Eastman (story)

Release Date:

16 December 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Lou Andreas Sand, a once famous model, recalls her past as she tries to make success in the modeling world of New York...

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Model | Beach | Rape | Lesbian

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Faye Dunaway	...	Lou Andreas Sand
Barry Primus	...	Aaron Reinhardt
Viveca Lindfors	...	Paula Galba
Barry Morse	...	Dr. Galba
Roy Scheider	...	Mark
Ruth Jackson	...	Barbara Casey
John Heffernan	...	Dr. Sherman
Sydney Walker	...	Psychiatrist
Clark Burckhalter	...	Davy Bright
Shirley Rich	...	Peggy McCavage
Emerick Bronson	...	Falco
Joe George	...	Man in Bar
John Eames	...	Doctor
Harry Lee	...	Mr. Wong
Jane Halleran	...	Joan

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

When being interviewed about the film by documentarians Ted Demme and Richard LaGravanese (for their film A Decade Under the Influence (2003)), co-star Roy Scheider expressed in a flustered manner, "I had never been involved in a film project that spent so much time studying how a woman drinks her tea!"

Quotes:

Lou Andreas Sand: I like your hair like that. All the men nowadays are growing their hair long. It's fabulous... *but*, you all look like Jesus! So how will we know him when he arrives?

Movie Connections:

Features Shanghai Express (1932)

One of the most underrated films of the 1970's

For the life of me, I can't figure out why someone doesn't put this film out on DVD or video. Puzzle of a Downfall Child is a hauntingly spare film about the breakdown of beauty. Although less well known than The Panic in Needle Park, it is Jerry Schatzberg's masterpiece. His use of non-linear storytelling coupled with some incredibly dreamy flashback sequences made me feel as if, like heroine Lou Sands, I too was coming slightly undone. For Faye Dunaway fans (and really who isn't a fan of Faye's?), this film showcases not only her incredible beauty--the eyelashes are to die for--but also her talents as an actress. She is more believable as an actress portraying a model than any model portraying an actress could ever hope to be. If it should ever make its way to an art-house near you, you will do yourself a disservice if you miss it. After I left the theater, I kept thinking of that trite adage about how they don't make them like they used to.