The Pumpkin Eater

SYNOPSIS

This is a study of a modern - well, 1964 - marriage, based on Penelope Mortimer's novel, with Anne Bancroft as the mother of several screaming brats and the wife of adulterous screenwriter-husband Peter Finch. She suffers a nervous collapse in Harrods, undergoes psychoanalysis, then a hysterectomy. Bancroft and Finch deliver blockbuster performances and the supporting cast is equally impressive - from James Mason as a boorish party guest and Maggie Smith as one of Finch's lovers. There's beautifully modulated direction from Jack Clayton and scriptwriter Harold Pinter's acidulent signature is all over it - not to mention the influence of Michelangelo Antonioni - for this British movie is so arty and so alienating it almost needs subtitles.