Rachel, Rachel (1968)

the leading man is my tpye

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Joanne Woodward effectively plays a bored and boring middle-aged school teacher who still lives with her mother at a funeral home in Connecticut. She's on the verge of mental collapse, but hides it well and pretends everything's okay. A guy from her childhood comes to town from the big city (James Olson) and her appetite for change comes to the fore.This potent drama was Paul Newman's first stab at directing and it's the best cinematic depiction of the inward struggle of flesh and spirit -- id and superego -- I've ever seen. This struggle explains why it's called "Rachel, Rachel." Rachel is experiencing the undercurrent conflict between spiritual and carnal impulses. She's stuck between goody-goody Rachel and libertine Rachel and is therefore in living limbo. Various outside factors encourage this lifeless state: Disturbing childhood memories of living in a funeral home, a mother who essentially views Rachel as her personal servant and a genuine friend who's love is starting to become unhealthy (Estelle Parsons).The film features a mind-blowing pentecostal church sequence that lasts 10-12 minutes. I can't believe Newman had the cojones to include this scene and it's pulled off expertly with Terry Kiser as the guest preacher who "speaks in tongues," which is what Calla (Parsons) tells Rachel when it's reveal that he's the speaker. Parsons is fabulous here, by the way.Due to the subject matter and the fact that this is a drama there are some boring stretches, so you have to be in the mood for a serious drama. Nevertheless, the film deserves credit for having the gonads to show real life and refusing to be politically correct -- an amazing drama.In case you didn't know, Newman and Woodward were husband & wife for 50 years, up to his death in 2008.The film runs 101 minutes and was shot in Connecticut.GRADE: A-

A Haunting Story of a Middle-Aged Spinster (read virgin) Trapped into Living with Her Mother. While Obsessing with Death and Contemplating a Worthless Life, She Discovers Sex and a Possible, Positive Change in Her Completely Unsatisfying Life.Joanne Woodward Gives a Powerful Performance and the Movie is Directed with Restraint by Paul Newman. The Third Act is the Weakest but Getting there is Strong Cinema. Rachel's Mind Games that She Plays with Herself (not the flashbacks) are Quickly, Neatly, and Effectively Cut into the Drama and these Little Bits of Business go almost Unnoticed but do Reside in the Sub Conscious.This Stylistic Flourish is all but Abandon in the Second Half, Probably because of Rachel Finally Discovering Something that allowed Her to be Released from Her "Cage". Her New Found Carnal Knowledge was Wonderful for Her Emotional Maturity but the Film doesn't Hold the Grip it Once Held After that.But Overall it is quite a Strong Story with a Fine Cast and one of those "Ground Breaking" Experiments that were Unleashed on the Movie Going Public as the Studio System Collapsed and the Rules of the Game began to Change.

I'm very pleased that the several reviews posted here are all positive. This is a fine film, a fine directorial review from an equally fine actor, an outstanding acting performance from his wife and great support from the entire cast. This is definitely art house material but none the worse for that. Director Newman reveals a wonderful sensitivity matched by his eye for pictorial images, the small New England town is captured to perfection yet is light years away from Peyton Place and the theme of time passing is conveyed subtly in scenes of pastoral/agricultural life following the seasons. It's difficult not to praise it too highly.

I was surprised to find this movie on HBO Signature channel early this morning, and just as surprised to love it, and to never before have heard of it. With this being Paul Newman's directorial debut, and starring Joanne Woodward, you would think it would be better known than it is. This is a wonderfully moving illustration of small town life before the onset of the modern world, with all of the good and bad that went along with it. It reminded me of growing up in a small town with all of the petty gossip as well as all of the wonderful friendships. Rachel is repressed in many ways by her past relationship with her late father as well as dealing with her not-so-invalid mother, who she serves as a sort of girl Friday. When she finally gets a chance to come out of her shell, she passes it up once before finally reaching out to find all she has missed in her life. Joanne Woodward gives one of the finest performances of her career, with her understated beauty contrasting so much with the intense repression of her character. All in all, this is one movie that deserves far more acclaim than it has received as a study of that small town life we all have left behind, and all that we have learned since.