The Turning Point (1977)

Thanks for the memories!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

There's a Rush song that I stumbled onto last week (Losing It, hard- hitting and emotionally evocative) which was supposedly inspired in part by "The Turning Point". Which is a movie I'd never even heard of before finding that song. And at the risk of sounding like a philistine, this is just not at all for me. It's ballet, for Pete's sake. I have no learned appreciation or the craft, and that's the essence of the whole thing. Evidently, this was an awards movie, and it's got that in its DNA; artsy and puffed-up. These women are facing regret and hard feelings, but Bancroft and MacLaine are so subdued for most of this. The boiling point doesn't come until way too late and I didn't buy that there's really animus between them. And everything winds up (mostly) rosy in the end; everyone has clarity and contentment. I was hoping for something a little less soapy. 5/10

I'm not half as enamored with this film as when I first saw it back in 1977.First of all, there's too much ballet in it. I know that sounds dumb since it's a story within the world of ballet, but what's really key here is the character development. Too much ballet was almost distracting.Second, Mikhail Baryshnikov was pretty much irrelevant to the story other than as a human prop. The would have been better to hire an actor and faked the dancing with a double...pretty much as they did with Anne Bancroft. I know Baryshnikov was all the rage at the time (and rightfully so), but let's face it, film was not his forte.This film was key to Shirley MacLaine's "era of sophistication". MacLaine was pretty versatile, and I often enjoyed her breadth of acting. Not sure she was the best actress for this role, but she is believable as a mother, if not as a former ballerina.Anne Bancroft is fine here...again, as an actress, but she did no real ballet dancing. Good acting performance, however.Tom Skerritt is very believable as the father. I was particularly pleased to see Martha Scott here,,,a terribly underrated actress.The story itself is a bit obtuse. Who is the real focus of the story? The young ballerina? Not really...again, she is a prop. It's about jealousy between a prima ballerina (Bancroft) and a could have been ballerina (MacLaine). Each has given up what the other has. And thereby exists the problem here -- the story is really about the old broads, but it focuses for most of the film on the young ballerina. Of course the highlight of the film -- and one of the main reasons it got so much attention when it was released, is the fight between MacLaine and Bancroft.

First things first; this movie takes place within the American Ballet Theater. The name "American Ballet" was chosen by George Balanchine- a white Russian émigré to the United States- back in the 1930s when it was indeed probably the only major ballet company within the United States. However, their use of this term now is certainly misleading. I believe an alternative, and much more descriptive name, is "New York City Ballet"; that may in fact be the name they are legally required to use now due expiration of the original copyright though I would not swear to it. They are certainly very good at what they do; but, there are quite a few ballet companies within the United States nowadays and they are just as American as the group in New York City. And, probably just as good. Their is an irony here in that the movie starts, for some unfathomable reason, in Oklahoma City- which is, I guess, meant to show a place as far away from the "Big City" ballet as one can get. Perhaps in 1977 it was, but nowadays Oklahoma City itself has a very good ballet company. The only major reason why I do not consider the OKC ballet company as good as the one in New York City is due to the shortage of funds they have encountered recently. The OKC ballet school is pretty good- from what I have heard. Anyway, the New York City Ballet is a top notch outfit but it is certainly NOT the only major ballet company in the United States-despite what this movie implies. Okay, now that I have cleared this up I will now comment on this movie.It is a "must see" movie for people who like ballet and even other major dance forms. There are a few problems- one is that Tom Skerritt plays the husband of a former ballerina of the company; himself a former "danseur" with the company. Yet, as good an actor as Mr. Skerritt is, I find his performance in this movie far from convincing in this manner. Their son is shown as an up and coming dancer; also with the company yet he disappears midway into the movie. What happened to him? I know the daughter is primary point of interest, but what happened to her brother?? Other than these weaknesses it is a very good movie- though it is somewhat surprising that it received 11 Academy Award nominations. Anne Bancroft was fantastic. In real life she never danced professionally nor took lessons yet she did a great job portraying an over-the-hill prima ballerina (possibly based on Margot Fonteyn). Shirley McClain- who did dance a lot - ironically is never seen dancing or even prepared for dancing. This is a "chick flick"- no doubt about it, but if you are male and interested in the behind the scenes of a ballet company you will find this interesting also. Speaking of males- Mihail Baryshnikov comes close to stealing the show from the female leads. This movie, along with "The Nutcracker" that he performed later in 1977, was the "turning point" in his career. Well worth seeing by anybody of either gender for this alone!!

The Turning Point is still an enjoyable film almost 30 years after it was first released. The actors are all outstanding, as are the dancers, but the movie is stolen by ballet dancer Lesile Browne. Browne is only 19 in the film, but her dance skills are remarkable. Limited as an actress, yet she had a screen presence which made her enjoyable to watch.She looked stunning dancing in the studio, as her leg-warmers slid down her shapely legs, she is a vision of pure beauty. Amazing that Browne was not cast as a dancer in the movie FAME.The dance numbers are enjoyable, but unless you're a big fan of classical ballet, it may be somewhat boring. The male dancers all come across as very girlish, and the principal female stars very strong, a typical theme of some of the early 80s films.So, put on your on tights, yank your leg-warmers to your thigh, pop on your ballet slippers, and enjoy The Turning Point.