Nick and Martha question
Do they have sex in the play too?? How does it happen? Because Martha is very unattractive in the play. In the film it's Elizabeth Taylor, so it is perfectly believable, but I can't imagine this happening in the play.
shareI saw the play back in 2007 when the Broadway revival came to L.A. I don't remember too much of it, as I was really tired that night, but I DO distinctly remember NICK KISSING MARTHA in the living room. This is somewhat surprising of course since we don't actually see Nick and Martha kiss in the film. According to a synopsis of the play I read online, Nick and Martha are supposed to go upstairs in order to have sex, WHILE GEORGE is actually sitting IN the living room (which is much more harsh than the film!!) - and while I can't remember whether this happened in the production I saw, Nick definitely REALLY THREW HIMSELF INTO THE KISS with Martha, making it very clear that sex could easily follow!!
What you need to remember is that Nick doesn't necessarily have sex with Martha because he's attracted to her - but rather because he believes it can help him ADVANCE HIS POSITION AT THE UNIVERSITY. That's the first reason. Also, because it's his way of getting his revenge on George for playing "Get the Guests". It definitely seems to be implied in the film that he finds her sexually attractive too - and no wonder, since it's Elizabeth Taylor like you said - but I think that was just the icing on the cake for him!! He would have done it anyway.....it was just a welcome bonus that she was actually sexy.
Interesting, I hadn't thought about him wanting to advance his position, certainly that would be a motive in a rendition with a more grotesque looking Martha, in the film I don't get that insinuation, it feels more like he's sexually attracted to her.
shareEven in the film, he definitely insinuates that he hopes to sleep his way to the top, during his conversation with George out by the swings. That's his "confession" scene, where his motive becomes clear. In fact, he explicitly states that he hopes to "plow" multiple wives unto that end, and that Martha is the most important of those women since her father is the president of the university. He jokes there that Martha is ALSO probably the most sexually inviting of the targetted wives/women.
Till then, I admit it CAN seem as though he's just sexually attracted to Martha - but that swing scene reveals that his sexual attraction is but the cherry on top. So it's kind of like: "I can use this woman to advance my position rapidly, AND have some red hot sex in the process!"
I didn't remember that, haven't seen the movie in a long time, I guess you're right.
shareYeah, definitely pay attention to that scene when you watch it again. :) I just saw it on the big screen today. George is the one who elicits the confession out of him by mentioning that he considers Nick a threat, and then suggesting that Nick wants to "plow" wives for his own ends - which Nick then confirms and elaborates on, in his drunken state.
But your original point still remains. In the film, it's definitely clear that he's going to ACTUALLY *ENJOY* having sex with Martha - on top of all the other motives and perceived benefits, whereas in the play, it's hard to imagine that he'd PHYSICALLY ENJOY the sex too (although, in the stage production I saw, the actor playing Nick kissed her in such a way that it COULD have been interpreted as him being turned on by her fire and aggression, if not her actual body). :)
That is another interesting theory, I haven't seen the play but have seen pictures of the actresses, and well I guess Martha is plain at best, some of the montages really make her unattractive. It's funny, in the movie it's supposed to be Elizabeth Taylor with her appearance taken several notches way down, and she's still so incredibly beautiful, the question becomes, what is she doing with George? But to me it adds more dimension, it would be one more reason to belittle him, that she could have had anybody else and chose him.
shareI definitely think the film's success was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and how the public's knowledge of them as a real life couple fills in a lot of the blanks. I feel like it's not a stretch to imagine that Liz's Martha would have married Richard's George all those years ago since we know Burton could look extremely sexy when the role demanded it (e.g: King Arthur, Mark Anthony) - and it's definitely to Burton's credit that he allowed them to make him look physically unappealing here. Then there's also his way with the English language, which we KNOW for a fact would have turned Martha on immensely (which Nick the "stud" of course doesn't have - he is physically everything that George is not, and the ideal sexual mate for Taylor's Martha, but he can never really be her equal verbally or mentally).
The way I see it, in the film version, Martha and George were like the perfect couple - a la Liz Taylor and Richard Burton in real life - when they got married, but by the time we get to this point in time, Burton's George has lost a great deal of his sexual appeal due to everything that's been weighing down upon him, and that definitely adds more dimension and depth to Taylor's Martha like you said - that she would still be with him, and even love him.
But yes, going back to Nick - in the stage production I saw, his inner monologue could have been interpreted as: "I came here hoping to sleep with this woman and boost my career, but now I'm actually turned on by her irrepressible energy and the sheer power of her personality!".....whereas his inner monologue in the film was definitely: "I came here hoping to sleep with this woman because she will boost my career, and hey, she's MILF material on top of that!"
By the way, just out of curiosity, are you male or female? I'm a guy, and I'm just curious as to how a viewer's gender can affect the way they internalize everything in the story. :)
I'm a guy too. I see what you mean but I imagine George always being like he was on the film.
shareIt's hard for me to imagine George always looking that way since I know Richard Burton - but even if he once looked like "Richard Burton", it still makes sense that George would be jealous of a tall, athletic, blonde guy like Nick.
shareHow would having sex with Martha help him to advance in the university? Are you saying that Martha's father would have congratulated him for conquering his daughter away from George, whom he didn't like?
shareMartha's father wouldn't necessarily know that Nick slept with her. Nick probably just expects Martha to put in a good word for him (i.e: rave about how impressive she finds him)
share