Movie Review: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Having read the play by Edward Albee some months ago and having a high opinion of it, I thought it was about time I got around to watching the film, starring the beautiful Elizabeth Taylor and the astounding Richard Burton. And I wasn't disappointed: not only was it an extremely faithful adaptation, the cinematography incorprated soem new ideas which reduced the clasutrophobia of the original setting and made it even better!




This is one of my favourite clips from the movie: Taylor is s beautiful and so ugly at the same time, and the agony on Burton's face slays me. And is this or is this not the best line delivery in history? "I hope that was an empty bottle, George. You can't afford to waste good liquor on your salary." Just a taste of the acerbic, ironic and downright insane themes of the play.

See, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is possibly the most exquisite example of mindfuck literacy ever written. The basic premise is that of a dysfunctional, middle-aged couple, George and Martha, and their marriage that is as full of hatred as it is anything else. They invite an attractive young couple who are young in town to their house and chaos ensues when Martha lets slip about their 'son'- who is revealed to be imaginary, a figment of the couple's imagination to dull the boredom of their lives. But the way this revelation is unfolded is so, so, so screwy.

Albee was quoted as saying that Taylor was 'quite good' and Burton was 'incredible' and I must agree. While Taylor recieved the most hype, because she was such a beautiful woman playing such a vulgar role, Burton's raw emotion in the role was beyond incredible. There's a moment in the film where George begins laughing hysterically until the giggles descend into sobs, and the feeling etched onto Burton's face could not have come from anyone else because it was so utterly convincing. He quite stole the show, actually.

Thought provoking? Definately. But it's also exquisitely filmed, perfectly cast and the meticulous attention to detail does not go unnappreciated. And here, I leave you with a clip of Burton getting angry as an example of why this movie is so intelligent.