''Extremities'' is a 1986 American
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by
Robert M. Young and written by
William Mastrosimone
William Mastrosimone (born August 19, 1947) is an American playwright and screenwriter from Trenton, New Jersey. He attended high school at The Pennington School and received a graduate degree in playwriting from Mason Gross School of the Arts, ...
, based on his 1982 off-Broadway
play of the same name
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
. The film stars
Farrah Fawcett
Farrah Leni Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she playe ...
,
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...
,
Diana Scarwid
Diana Elizabeth Scarwid (born August 27, 1955) is a retired American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Christina Crawford in ''Mommie Dearest (film), Mommie Dearest'' (1981). She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best ...
, and
James Russo
James Vincent Russo (born April 23, 1953) is an American film and television actor. He has appeared in over 150 films in three decades.
Early life
Russo was born in New York City, New York, to an Italian father and German mother. A graduate of t ...
.
Both Fawcett and Russo had appeared in the stage play (Fawcett taking over a role originated by
Susan Sarandon
Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
), and Fawcett received a
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nomination for Best Actress for her performance in the film.
Plot
While getting into her car one night, Marjorie is attacked at knifepoint by a masked assailant who forces her to drive to a remote location, where he tries to
sexually assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
her. She manages to flee but leaves her purse behind. While at the police station, she is told that without a positive identification of her attacker, it will be her word against his, and he will likely not face any criminal charges. In the following days, Marjorie lives in continued fear. Meanwhile, her attacker, revealed to be Joe, uses the information from her purse to find out where she lives and also steals mail from the home she shares with her roommates, Pat and Terry, to gain insight into their lives. One morning, while Pat and Terry are away at work, Joe casually enters her home, claiming he is looking for someone who owes him money. Marjorie quickly realizes he is the man who attacked her and tries to escape, but Joe overpowers her. Throughout the day, Joe repeatedly physically and psychologically abuses her. As he attempts to rape her, Marjorie manages to subdue him by spraying
wasp repellent into his eyes. As she tries to flee once again, Joe taunts her by saying that since he did not actually rape her, the police will let him go, and he vows to come back and kill her. Marjorie binds him, confines him in the fireplace, and plans to murder him. When Pat and Terry return home, they try to convince Marjorie to think of the consequences of her decision and to go to the police. Joe tries to manipulate them into turning against Marjorie and believing that he is the victim. As Marjorie tries to force Joe to confess to what he has done to her, he claims that he and Marjorie were lovers and that she attacked him when he came to end their relationship. Marjorie removes the knife he previously used on her from his jacket, as well as the mail he stole. She threatens to castrate him if he does not admit the truth. Defeated, Joe confesses that he intended to kill Marjorie, as well as Pat and Terry. He also confesses to raping and murdering three prior women. Marjorie, finally at peace, tells Pat and Terry to alert the police.
Cast
Reception
''Extremities'' received mixed reviews from critics. The film holds a 40% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on ten reviews.
Award nomination
For her performance, Fawcett received a 1986
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
nomination for
Best Actress in a film drama.
The film was named one of the Worst Films of 1986 by
Siskel and Ebert
Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's dea ...
.
Home media
''Extremities'' was released to Blu-ray and DVD on May 19, 2015 as a Region 1 widescreen disc.
References
External links
*
*
*
Reviewat
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
{{Robert M. Young
1986 films
1986 drama films
American films based on plays
American drama films
Atlantic Entertainment Group films
Films directed by Robert M. Young
Films set in Los Angeles
Home invasions in film
American rape and revenge films
Films scored by J. A. C. Redford
1980s English-language films
1980s American films