One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Just so...so bad

It's one of the most original films you'll likely see all year, which, depending on your threshold for certifiably crazy storylines, could be a rewarding experience or one that frustrates you.

Blistering performances.

Anne Bancroft gives a shattering performance as a woman on the verge in The Pumpkin Eater. In arguably her finest role Bancroft through the shear power of expression slowly disintegrates from the pressures of raising an army of kids and the betrayal of her philandering husband in this melancholy marathon written by Harold Pinter and directed by Jack Clayton. Prolific breeder Jo marries up and coming screenwriter Jake Armitage and adds another child to the brood along the way. She luxuriates in the chaotic household but Jake chafes at the constant barrage of activity. He is also prone to straying. Watching Bancroft go over the edge is both disturbing and mesmerizing made even more uncomfortable by Jack Clayton and cinematographer Oswald Morris's insistence on making us see things from her point of view most of the film. Her haunting blank stares speak volumes making her rages all the more volcanic. The adult world she deals with is deceitful and cruel and we are left to witness her wall of denial crumbling. It's a grim but absorbing watch.Finch along with a superb supporting cast do an excellent job of illuminating Jo's hostile world. In a mere three scenes and one phone call James Mason goes about as low as one can get as a cuckolded husband with unctuous magnificence. Maggie Smith is exasperatingly callous as a mooch and lover to Jake while Yootha Joyce as a stranger in a benign hair salon is chilling.Over two hours in length this lugubrious work never wanes due to Pinter and Mortimer's fine tuned script that keeps you guessing as to the extent of Jo's instability along with Clayton's tension creating tight framing and Miss Bancroft's truly riveting performances that has to rank with some of the best of the decade.

A husband's unfaithfulness triggers his wife's depression. Jo (Anne Bancroft), already a parent of five children, marries Jake Armitage (Peter Finch) and is devastated when he has sex with her best friend. Since this is an early sixties pre-feminist film, it doesn't occur to any of the characters that at least part of Jo's problems may stem from the fact she isn't allowed any real role in life except that of being a wife and mother. As was so common with marriages at the time, she's way too over-involved in her husband and her self-esteem rises and falls according to his moods. Jo's in a double bind. If she were to look for a role outside of the home, she would be accused of being unable to accept her feminine role. Even though Jo's sent to see a psychiatrist, Jake has his own problems. Why in the world would he marry a woman obsessed with child-bearing and then complain about his lack of privacy and the fact that she wants to get pregnant again? Her pregnancies may be a way of self-medicating her depression. Jo is completely invested in her role as a mother, but her depression makes her unable to truly love and care for her children. Her oldest daughter becomes her surrogate parent and has the sad job of being perpetually cheerful and competent as she tries to cheer up Jo. Despite being a lousy husband, Jake is good dad. He co-opts her in her relationship to her kids.This very dated film demonstrates how femininity itself was treated as a chronic disease. There's a great scene where Jo wanders around Harrod's, surrounded by scenes of female consumption where the women's faces and bodies are interspersed with those of blank-faced mannequins. The images reflect not only Jo's feelings of emptiness, but also reflect the negative cultural attitudes towards women that were so prevalent at the time. To please Jake and thinking it will save her marriage, Jo gets an abortion and has her tubes tied. But he continues to philander. The couple buy and renovate an old windmill that's missing its blades. It stands for the ultimate unsustainability of their marriage; a kind of marriage that is running out of steam as the sixties progress. This is a beautifully photographed and well-acted film with a lovely musical score.

Wow! How did I miss ever seeing this little gem? Made the mistake of watching this film as part of a "bad marriages" movie marathon that included Jean Simmons in "The Happy Ending" and Joanne Woodward in "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams," so by the time "The Pumpkin Eater" came on, I was a tad weary of dissatisfied, wealthy wives.That being said, even in my fatigue and near-stupor, the almost radiant beauty of Ann Bancroft hit me right between the eyes. Not only is she a stunner, but she has the most expressive eyes and dramatically compelling face ever. One could watch it for hours. I really never saw her better. I wish I had watched this film first.Loved the ending, by the way. It made me cry.

This 1964 film is a perfect definition of a brooding piece. In many scenes, Anne Bancroft looks like she is getting ready to play Mrs. Robinson 3 years later. When she sits with that cigarette in her hand and brooding, I thought of sexual liaisons with Benjamin.The picture is a very dull one. It should have had the title of "The Baby Maker." When Bancroft, on her 3rd marriage, is not manufacturing children, she is emotionally out of it and ready to bust a gut.The story-line here is very little. Women-Lib groups could use this movie to press their demands for women getting out of the house in the 1960s and be economically and sexually liberated.As husband number 3, Peter Finch has little to do except have dalliances with other women.The film desperately needs a burst of excitement and this does not occur.As the emotionally drained woman, Bancroft gives her all in the film and received a well deserved Oscar nomination. Special kudos to James Mason, who briefly appears but etches a character, a snitch whose wife is involved with Finch, totally convincing.