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Desperate Characters (1971)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
22 September 1971 (USA) morePlot Keywords:
Awards:
3 wins & 1 nomination moreUser Comments:
A baffling array of characters on the proverbial edge moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Shirley MacLaine | ... | Sophie Bentwood |
 | Kenneth Mars | ... | Otto Bentwood |
| Sada Thompson | ... | Claire |
| Jack Somack | ... | Leon |
| Gerald S. O'Loughlin | ... | Charlie |
| Chris Gampel | ... | Mike Holstein |
| Mary Alan Hokanson | ... | Flo Holstein |
| Robert Bauer | ... | Young Man |
 | Carol Kane | ... | Young Girl |
| Michael Higgins | ... | Francis Early |
| Michael McAloney | ... | Raconteur |
| Wallace Rooney | ... | Man on Subway |
| Rose Gregorio | ... | Ruth |
| Elena Karam | ... | Saleslady |
| Nick Smith | ... | The Caller |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
USA:97 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Color (Eastmancolor)Sound Mix:
MonoCertification:
USA:RFilming Locations:
New York City, New York, USAFAQ
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Chilly examination of alienated New Yorkers is difficult to find on VHS, but it's worth the search for Shirley MacLaine's performance alone. She's quite sympathetic floating through this frigid sea of lost faces and souls. The film is slow (deliberately slow) and lugubrious, but also undeniably compelling. The horrors of the modern day (circa 1971) are well-depicted in scene after scene, and the fade-out offers no pat promises (and, amusingly, no hope). In her autobiography, MacLaine scathingly dismisses the film as one that "didn't work", blaming it on script problems. I agree the 'plot', such as it is, could've been stronger overall, but--as with all unconventional stories--the people, their emotions, and things they experience are just as important as the dialogue, and all of those elements here are provocative and well-observed. What a weird one this is! **1/2 from ****