MovieChat Forums > Sue (1998) Discussion > So unwatchable

So unwatchable

posted 19 years ago by suze-4
11 replies | jump to latest

Because this movie had such good reviews, because I seek out interesting character studies and little-known gems, I finally found this one at my local store which carries obscure titles. It is only available in VHS, apparently imported from Britain.

I have to say this is not a story that draws you in or makes you understand the heroine or her situation, but a series of bleak, unpleasant vignettes in her life. It seems to be saying she is cute and spunky with a lot of charm and something great is going to happen to her. She dresses in early 60s chignon with head scarves and shades like Audrey Hepburn which is obviously a deliberate touch, to give her some class, but she acts with no class at all. As we watch aghast, it paints a picture of a woman who seems to have looks and talent and is outgoing, yet desperately reaches out to strangers to pick up any man she can get. We need an explanation for her pathetic plight. Finally I realized this woman is mentally ill, but the movie doesn't portray it as such; her actions are just shown in a matter of fact way, without any adequate background. For me this is a fault in the script. The other characters are not strong enough to provide a reality in which to place her. We are not given enough reasons why she has entered this downward spiral.

The very worst aspect is the way she continually talks to strangers and picks up men, which reminds me of Looking for Mr. Goodbar. In fact she is darn lucky that one of these men was not more unbalanced than she was. At all times she is in danger from her reckless behaviour, which lends a foreboding atmosphere of dread to the experience. There is no relief and no hope, and that is unacceptable in a movie.

Such a sad and awful story. I am willing to admit the possibility that it is meant to be portrayed that way, to show society's failure to one woman etc. but I don't like movies such as this where nothing is learned, nothing is redeemed and there is no hope. With a few little changes it could have been compelling and worthwhile.

[–] panoskick 18 years ago

i found this movie really nice and lyric...Anna Thomson is one of the greatest actresses alive and Amos Kolleck directed a very moody, extremely sensitive film. I think u're more into comedies and soft movies, since u didnt like this lil filming treasure..BTW u should know that not all people have a happy life, and lonliness is a friend of many of them out there..

"...I've been with Dale and Laura...Write it in your diary..."

[–] hbytnar 18 years ago

After I saw it for the first time few years ago I literally could not pick myself up from a chair and leave the cinema. There are some movies that illuminate in your mind as accurate and there it was. I knew all to well the state she was in (I think): this lack of boundaries of any kind and total vulnerability towards the outside world: almost as in a teenage girl.
I do agree that the movie gave no hope to Sue: she was as a leaf in the wind, anyone could pick her from the ground and do anything to her, for she would let him. Movies, as some more classical genres of art, sometimes serve as a way of exhausting ones feelings, bringing the refuge of tears, as Laurence Olivier, if I am not mistaken, has said. I loved the movie, because at the time of seeing it I was too, for a moment, totally vulnerable.

[–] sadmachines 18 years ago

I felt compelled to watch it...there was something about it

[–] mars_nr1 18 years ago

I agree, it's one of the best movies I've seen. Her loneliness, her inability to take the chances that she gets... It's horrible to watch, but it happens. Don't we all have some chances that we didn't dare to take?

Follow the white rabbit....

[–] someguy18_69 18 years ago

reminds me of my life....without the flagrant sex of course

[–] Vera_Luna 17 years ago

To the originator of the thread - I think perhaps you missed the point...for instance, her appearance having the touch of the early '60s I saw as more of a testament to her almost naive ideas of sex and femininity. It was not intended to give her 'some class', but to illuminate the fact that she wears her sexuality on her sleeve with no notion of the consequences. Time and time again we see her reach out to men, having sex with strangers, and always kicking herself afterward. She is socially untalented, and that is her fatal flaw, that's what keeps her isolated. And to say that the absence of relief and hope is unacceptable in a movie...some films are more art than fun, understand. This is not a light, flirty movie about a young woman finding herself in the city. This is, and I believe was intended to be, a gradually darkening story of a woman losing her way in metropolis.
The end is also a bit open-ended, so who is to say she didn't eventually pull herself together? I saw hope, she did reach out again to the only really genuine friend she'd made and that friend did respond compassionately. I found it compelling and worthwhile, if not always pleasant to watch.

[–] Bill-625 17 years ago

The film was made seriously, so it's not a joke, but it's depressingly drab and awful throughout. Sue may be flushing her life and emotions down the drain, but I don't see how being a voyeur to her train wreck of a life is entertainment in any way.

Did you see the box office data? $54,500 TOTAL! That's not even the catering budget for a more mainstream film.

[–] saschatuchardt 16 years ago

"Did you see the box office data? $54,500 TOTAL! That's not even the catering budget for a more mainstream film."

Yeah, maybe, but so what? This is anything but a mainstream movie (you indirectly said it yourself) so I don´t understand why you had to state that?

I liked the movie...there are movies, songs, poems, books, that aren´t entertaining in your everyday way...some are boring, some are artistic, poetiy, beautiful...anyway, there never is something EVERYBODY loves or hates...I thought this movie and especially the cinematography and mrs. thomsons performance were magnificant!

[–] Bill-625 16 years ago

And you're not alone. I didn't actually mean the film is bad because of the box office take, I meant I was amazed that any film could have such a low total.

[–] braunpanther 11 years ago

oooh brother not everything is included in that figure

this movie is there...many people talk about it.....something you cannot ignore

[–] henrimaine 7 years ago

she acts with no class at all. As we watch aghast, it paints a picture of a woman who seems to have looks and talent and is outgoing, yet desperately reaches out to strangers to pick up any man she can get. We need an explanation for her pathetic plight. Finally I realized this woman is mentally ill, but the movie doesn't portray it as such; her actions are just shown in a matter of fact way, without any adequate background.

Wow, you make it sound really good. I mean, from your description I would conclude that this is a really good and interesting movie. But strangely, you make the opposite conclusion.

I realized this woman is mentally ill, but the movie doesn't portray it as such

Well, oftentimes it's not really clear whether a person is mentally ill or whether she is surrounded by bad environment. Mostly it's a bit of both. There is no clear boundary between sane and crazy people. You might say that this woman was mentally ill, but you could just as well say that her behavior fitted the environment.