The Comfort of Strangers

I watched “The Comfort of Strangers,” the 1990 film by Paul Schrader.  The Criterion Collection DVD had an interview with Schrader about the making of the film.  He made a note of the visual references to “Last Year at Marienbad” and “Orpheus.”  The four main characters were played by Christopher Walken, Natasha Richardson, Rupert Everett, and Helen Mirren.  Richardson and Everett are Mary and Colin, a British couple working out their relationship while on a vacation in Venice.  They have the misfortune of encountering Robert and Caroline, who turn out to be very strange.  I wondered if Quentin Tarantino saw this movie before he cast Christopher Walken in “Pulp Fiction.”  I also remembered that Helen Mirren was in “Caligula,” so no other movie she could be in would be as outrageous.  I couldn’t see how Colin could react to Robert’s violent act by doing nothing.  What made less sense was going back to Robert’s place with all of that creepy behavior.  If someone like Caroline looked in on you sleeping nude, would you want to stick around, much less come back for a second visit?  This film had some of the uncomfortable quality of “Auto Focus,” and seemed like a fair distance away from “Mishima,” which Schrader had made five years earlier.  I wondered how Natasha Richardson could so along with Schrader’s wild ideas.  The screenplay was by Harold Pinter.  I could see Christopher Walken doing well with such a script.  After seeing him in “Annie Hall,” I didn’t think that he had that much in him, but he has now been around for nearly fifty years.  The movie doesn’t give you enough to make this anything more than a curiosity in your mind.  It has some similarity to Luchino Visconti’s “Death in Venice.”  You’re left with an unpleasant feeling about strangers in strange places.  Schrader said he was trying to make an Istanbul film in Venice.  He was avoiding stereotypes about Venice.  I’m not sure that it was a good idea.  If you are going through the expense of being in Venice, why not take advantage of it?  Sadly, Natasha Richardson would die after injuring her head in a skiing accident.  She refused medical attention at first.  I couldn’t help thinking about what might have happened if she had seen a doctor right away?  Liam Nesson’s life and career would have been different.  I would not rate “The Comfort of Strangers” as one of Paul Schrader’s best films, although there are some moments in it that might make you want to see it.  You should stick with “Taxi Driver” and “Mishima,” otherwise.  One of the special features of the disc was an interview with Ian McEwan.  It didn’t make me want to read any of his novels.  Some of the people who died on October 8 include Henry Fielding (1754), Franklin Pierce (1869), Nigel Bruce (1953), Joan Hackett (1983), Al Davis (2011), and Whitey Ford (2020).  Today is a birthday for Matt Damon (51), Sigourney Weaver (72), Chevy Chase (78), R.L. Stine (78), Jesse Jackson (80), Paul Hogan (82), and Rona Barrett (82).  According to the Brandon Brooks Rewind radio segment for October 8, “Bat Masterson” had its premiere on NBC in 1958.  In 1981, the pilot of “Cagney and Lacey,” starring Tyne Daly and Loretta Swit, aired on CBS.  In 1993, “Demolition Man,” starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, was released.