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Tess (1980)
Roman Polanski,
Natasha Kinksi
Roman Polanksi? Never
Would Have Guessed, June 19, 2011
If I had viewed this beautifully filmed version of TESS
without knowing who the director was, never in my wildest dreams would I have
guessed it was Roman Polanski! It is very different from his other films. Of
course Polanski is a versitile director. Anyone who could go from THE TENANT to
FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (a masterpiece of the comedy-horror genre) has got to
be multifaceted artistically. Reading the negative reviews of TESS confirmed
the opinion that many Amazon reviewers react more emotionally than rationally.
TESS is totally UNLIKE any other Polanski production.
It's more BBC's Masterpiece Theatre than ROSEMARY'S BABY.
Nastassia Kinski is, of course, physically beautiful, but it is her "inner
self" that captivates in the film. Her Tess is so completely
understated--and this is where other reviewers may have a problem with this
production--as to be ephemeral. Despite her beauty there is an illusive quality
to the characterization. She's more spirit than flesh & blood. It's as if
Tess advances through life with the forgone (perhaps, subconcious) conclusion
of being ultimately doomed. This is so close to Thomas Hardy's vision of fate,
that I'm surprised most negative reviewers either missed it or just didn't want
to see because they had a pre-existing bias against Polanski. This isn't the
place to go into RP's legal woes; suffice it to say that he was more set-up
than predatory.
I thought the script still needed some work in showing motivation. I agree with
reviwers who felt details of Tess' relationship are too truncated. For example,
the whole "baby thing" happens so fast, it's almost like Tess never
had a baby. However, this may be part of Polanski's intent on not wanting the
audience to wallow in wet, 3 hanky emotion--a feature that overall I
appreciated. He didn't want to create a melodrama bloated with nudity & sex
scenes.
In ways--some obvious, some not so obvious--TESS reminded me of ELIVRA MADIGAN,
another impressionistic style film about a compellingly strange & doomed
heroine.
Here's a little heretical hint: The TESS I screened was a 1 Disk Director's Cut
version available from Netflix--and, despite being passed around like a village
hussy, it was in a spotlessly pristine condition with outstanding
cinematography & exhibited none of the problems some reviewers complained
about. It would be nice if there was more consistency in the film reproduction
industry.
Updated
11/11
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