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Strangers When We Meet
A suburban architect loves his wife but is bored with his marriage and with his work, so he takes up with the neglected, married beauty who lives down the street.
Release : | 1960 |
Rating : | 7.1 |
Studio : | Columbia Pictures, Bryna Productions, Richard Quine Productions, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Set Decoration, |
Cast : | Kirk Douglas Kim Novak Ernie Kovacs Walter Matthau Barbara Rush |
Genre : | Drama Romance |
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if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak star in this tale of love found outside of an unhappy or rather a dull, or shall we say, a trapped marriage in suburban America. Kirk is an architect who likes to build to suit his tastes rather than conform to the mundane, everyday buildings and houses that the masses use on a day to day basis. Barbara Rush is his wife, who tries to help him get jobs, but maybe she "doesn't understand him," and what he's trying to do in his career and with his life. So Kirk feels trapped by her expectations of him. Kirk meets Kim, by way of the school bus stop; they both have sons that go to school together. Kirk hears talk about Kim and her husband, who are new to the block. She is really neglected by her husband, who is not affectionate at all, and very cold to her basic needs. Kim hears talk about him, the architect and his wife. They start an alliance, when, after talking to her at the grocery store, he later invites her to see a client's vacant lot, on which a new house will be built, one he will design, obviously. She is hesitant at first, for many reasons, some of which we can guess and some we can't. One clearly is that, there is a time and place for social interaction that is acceptable. As an adult and spouse and parent, you know what your boundaries are. But when you're unhappy or find the opposite sex attractive, sometimes it feels like...maybe. She tells him to turn back as this doesn't feel right, but then she loosens up a little. Long story short, this is a movie, right? This deals with infidelity head on and doesn't hold back in its realistic portrayal of who gets hurt. Real emotion and raw feelings are brought to the surface, and we are able to see real, complicated people and the after effects of Kirk's actions. All this drama is heightened by expert actors in the leads, but Barbara Rush is particularly good as the wronged wife. And Walter Matthau gives a very understated performance as a neighbor who turns out to be an opportunist too. Having said all that, me being single and unable to really relate to this situation, I don't know that I would re-watch this. It may be more enjoyed by those who have had brief affairs. But its unsentimental treatment of the subject matter doesn't mince words with its viewers. We know what's what. But what becomes of a couple who may have gone past the point of no return? Is there a marriage that is salvageable after infidelity? "Strangers When We Meet" is about people looking for love and acceptance in all the wrong places and learning from it. Hopefully, we, as viewers, can too.
This film is nothing but a beautiful Technicolor soap opera, but wow, what great-looking stars -- the gorgeous Kim Novak, with a figure that would knock your eyes out, and virile, well-built, flat-bellied Kirk Douglas! The acting, at least by Kim Novak, leaves a lot to be desired -- she always seems to be in some kind of a mental fog, and delivers her lines lifelessly, without feeling.But this movie is not to be missed, if for no other reason than the unintentionally funny scenes between Kim Novak ("Maggie") and her cold fish of a husband, "Ken". In one scene, Maggie is going out for a clandestine meeting with Kirk Douglas ("Larry"), poured into a tight, revealing red dress that practically screams, "I'M HAVING AN AFFAIR!". Her prissy husband is sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper, oblivious. Maggie tells Ken she's going out with a girlfriend or something like that (yeah, sure), and when Ken fails to notice the obvious, she says to him in that smoky voice, "Suppose I'm going to meet a man. It happens", to which Ken replies, glancing up briefly and rattling his newspaper, "Not to someone like you". That hilarious bit of dialogue alone makes this movie worthwhile!
This film stars Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak, so you'd think the film would be a little more compelling. Well, it really isn't--it's just pretty boring though the acting certainly isn't bad. Part of the problem is the script--it just isn't all that good. Also, your point of view may make this even less attractive. I'm a pretty old-fashioned guy and I thought that the film glorified and excused adultery, so I was put off right away. However, some can no doubt look past this. But, even if you do, it doesn't make the film terribly interesting or inspiring. It's a time-passer and that's really about it. So, you CAN watch it if you'd like but I wouldn't rush to do so.
Married architect secretly romances a pretty society wife, new to the neighborhood. Vehicle for stars Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak is quite lush and slick, but doesn't have the guts to face any of the nasty truths inherent to the situation until just about the end, when neighbor Walter Matthau gets involved. Matthau could be quite menacing and foreboding when he wanted to be, and he pulls off a very difficult moment here. Otherwise, it's a glossy tale about attractive people doing a hurtful thing to their respective spouses. It doesn't hold infidelity up as something to admire or duplicate, but neither does it de-glamorize the act of cheating. For his part, Douglas gives one of his most relaxed performances; Novak is still a bit stiff but cuts a lovely presence. **1/2 from ****