{"id":40294,"date":"2023-07-07T18:06:23","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T22:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40294"},"modified":"2023-07-07T18:08:09","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T22:08:09","slug":"the-bootleg-files-stevie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/07\/the-bootleg-files-stevie\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: Stevie"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 835:<\/strong> \u201cStevie\u201d (1978 British film starring Glenda Jackson and Mona Washbourne). <\/p>\n

LAST SEEN:<\/strong> On YouTube.
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\nAMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> On VHS video.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> It fell through the cracks.
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\nCHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE:<\/strong> Hello, Criterion Collection?<\/p>\n

The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby can be credited with writing the single most irresponsible and the single most beneficial movie reviews of all time. The irresponsible review was his November 1980 slam of \u201cHeaven\u2019s Gate\u201d \u2013 the vitriolic fury that he hurled at Michael Cimino\u2019s Western epic was the ultimate example of critical overkill, and his wrath was so powerful that it set off the chain reaction that brought down the film\u2019s studio, United Artists.
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But eight months after Canby\u2019s roasting of \u201cHeaven\u2019s Gate,\u201d he used his prominence to rescue a film that nearly became lost to oblivion: the British production \u201cStevie,\u201d directed by Robert Enders and starring Glenda Jackson as the poet Stevie Smith. \u201cStevie\u201d opened in Los Angeles in 1978 and received Golden Globe nominations for Jackson and her co-star Mona Washbourne, but distributor First Artists saw no commercial value in a wider release. By the time Canby saw the film, it was playing in a brief and barely promoted run at the Thalia, a Manhattan art house that specialized in obscure and mostly unwanted features.<\/p>\n

The strength of Canby\u2019s glowing review convinced The Samuel Goldwyn Company to pick up the U.S. rights that First Artists jettisoned. The film had a well-received art house release during 1981 and Jackson picked up awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review while Washbourne was honored by the National Board of Review and the Boston Society of Film Critics.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, \u201cStevie\u201d seems to have tumbled back into obscurity \u2013 it had a VHS video release but has yet to be seen on a commercial DVD or Blu-ray and I can\u2019t recall the last time it was ever televised in the U.S. And while it can be seen on Amazon Prime if you have a ScreenPix subscription, the best way to see it is in an unauthorized 11-part posting to YouTube; some DVD bootleg sites also sell the film. Glenda Jackson\u2019s passing last month made “Stevie” a topic of social conversation among many movie lovers, and perhaps that could have an effect similar to Canby\u2019s review of encouraging a wider release.<\/p>\n

\u201cStevie\u201d is based on Hugh Whitemore\u2019s play, which starred Jackson in a London stage production and on British radio. The film adaptation adheres to the source\u2019s theatrical roots, complete with Jackson breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the viewer. But unlike other filmed plays \u2013 such as the American Film Theatre productions and Robert Altman\u2019s forays into adapting stage dramas \u2013 \u201cStevie\u201d never feels stodgy or claustrophobic. This is a testament to Whitemore\u2019s brilliance with capturing the essence of Stevie Smith\u2019s distinctive view of the world \u2013 when Smith\u2019s poetry is laced into the proceedings, the effect is so subtle that it is easy to wonder where Smith\u2019s writing end and Whitemore\u2019s resumes. <\/p>\n

On the surface, Smith seemed like a very unusual subject for coverage: she spent her adult life in a somewhat dull London suburb in a small home that she shared with her maiden aunt (Washbourne), who prepared her meals and did the housekeeping while Smith worked as a secretary in a publishing company. Her employer was unusually accommodating, as Smith worked on her poetry in the office in between her duties. Smith\u2019s life was mostly uneventful \u2013 she was a sickly child who was hospitalized with tuberculosis, and when she matured she only had two serious relations. One is recounted in a Jackson monologue, with Smith rejecting a German suitor because of her negative feelings to his countrymen during the 1930s. The other is a scene with Alec McGowan as her would-be fianc\u00e9 Freddy \u2013 his silly-ass demeanor, complete with tennis racket, is wholly antithetical to Smith\u2019s cerebral demeanor, and their courtship ends badly.<\/p>\n

The relationship between Smith and her aunt \u2013 who is referred to as her \u201clion aunt,\u201d but never by a first name \u2013 is the heart of \u201cStevie.\u201d While Stevie has a running commentary with the viewer, the aunt is oblivious that she is a character in the drama. Washbourne\u2019s aunt is doting without being obsessive \u2013 she finds no fault with her niece, except when she can\u2019t decide what condiment to have a lamb dinner \u2013 and her inevitable aging and decline in health is touchingly framed as Smith becomes the caregiver.<\/p>\n

But beyond the relationship, Smith was a complex personality. The film touches briefly on her failed attempt at suicide and her death-focused poems \u2013 most notably \u201cNot Waving But Drowning\u201d \u2013 are shared. Trevor Howard appears throughout the film in brief snippets, identified only as \u201cThe Man,\u201d and he recites Smith\u2019s work is a clear, unsentimental recitation. He also has a scene as a car-owner friend of Smith who is supposed to take her to a party \u2013 her prickly personality and the mild bickering on whether she will be staying over at her host\u2019s home is the one section of the film that is unpleasant.<\/p>\n

It is to Jackson\u2019s credit that she mined Whitemore\u2019s text to create a fully dimensional and always fascinating character in Smith. She emerges as a raconteur with a delightfully off-kilter view of her world \u2013 her recollection of receiving a medal from Queen Elizabeth is hilarious \u2013 but she always seems just a few words away from acknowledging her world may not have been what desired. As Howard\u2019s character notes after her failed suicide: \u201c\u201cDeath, that sweet and gentle friend, failed to respond to her summons. Life continued.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStevie\u201d will not appeal to the filmgoer who was weaned on comic book adventure movies. But for those who appreciate the English language and are eager for a literate consideration of the human experience, the film is a gem.<\/p>\n