The Girl in a Swing

Antiques dealer in London, a bachelor who appears to be hesitant of becoming involved with a woman (particularly one with a child), meets a beautiful, enigmatic German girl while on business in Copenhagen. They have a whirlwind courtship and are soon married, but a tragic event in her recent past threatens to tear the lovers apart. Tale of obsessive love and guilt is reticent about revealing its secrets--and, when the climax arrives, it's obscure and troubling, and viewers are left puzzled and rather put off. Dreamily essayed and shot by writer-director Gordon Hessler, via Richard Adams' novel, the film's mercurial nature and heavy-handed psychological overtures may try some viewers' patience long before the climax. Even more frustrating is Meg Tilly's German accent; the actress, glamorous for really the first time, is as dazed and fuzzy-of-thought as ever, and often she's impossible to understand. It's easy to see how a long-time bachelor would become obsessed with her--she's like one of those fragile porcelain figures in his shop--but Hessler dotes on her and dotes on her. Leading man Rupert Frazer is convincingly haunted by the dangerous beauty, though he seems to understand her long before we do. If one responds to the couple's emotional journey, there is hope that the passion and eroticism and heartbreak will all piece together satisfyingly by the end. That doesn't really happen in Hessler's treatment--we're left to ponder the conclusions drawn--yet the high drama at hand is often quite intriguing. **1/2 from ****