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.
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.