Interiors (other)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Interiors'' is a 1978 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
written and directed by
Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
. It stars
Kristin Griffith Kristin Griffith (born September 7, 1953) is an American actress. Filmography *''Interiors'' (1978, by Woody Allen) – Flyn *'' The Europeans'' (1979, by James Ivory) – Lizzie Acton *''Flesh & Blood'' (1979 TV movie) – Michelle *''CHiPs ...
,
Mary Beth Hurt Mary Beth Hurt (''née'' Supringer; born September 25, 1946) is an American actress of stage and screen. She is a three-time Tony Award-nominated actress. Notable films in which Hurt has appeared include ''Interiors'' (1978), ''The World Accordi ...
,
Richard Jordan Robert Anson Jordan Jr. (July 19, 1937 – August 30, 1993) was an American actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays. His films include ''Logan's Run'', ''Les Misérab ...
,
Diane Keaton Diane Keaton ('' née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Gl ...
,
E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...
,
Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acade ...
,
Maureen Stapleton Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...
, and
Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has receive ...
. Allen's first fully-fledged film in the
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 ...
genre, it was met with acclaim from critics. It received five
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations, including
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...
,
Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...
(both for Allen),
Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...
(Page), and Best Supporting Actress (Stapleton). Page also won the BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.


Plot

The film centers on the three children of Arthur (
E. G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...
), a corporate attorney, and Eve (
Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acade ...
), an interior decorator. Renata (
Diane Keaton Diane Keaton ('' née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Gl ...
) is a poet whose husband Frederick (
Richard Jordan Robert Anson Jordan Jr. (July 19, 1937 – August 30, 1993) was an American actor. A long-time member of the New York Shakespeare Festival, he performed in many Off Broadway and Broadway plays. His films include ''Logan's Run'', ''Les Misérab ...
), a struggling writer, feels eclipsed by her success. Flyn (
Kristin Griffith Kristin Griffith (born September 7, 1953) is an American actress. Filmography *''Interiors'' (1978, by Woody Allen) – Flyn *'' The Europeans'' (1979, by James Ivory) – Lizzie Acton *''Flesh & Blood'' (1979 TV movie) – Michelle *''CHiPs ...
) is an actress who is away most of the time filming; the low quality of her films is an object of ridicule behind her back. Joey (
Mary Beth Hurt Mary Beth Hurt (''née'' Supringer; born September 25, 1946) is an American actress of stage and screen. She is a three-time Tony Award-nominated actress. Notable films in which Hurt has appeared include ''Interiors'' (1978), ''The World Accordi ...
), who is in a relationship with Mike (
Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has receive ...
), cannot settle on a career, and resents her mother for favoring Renata, while Renata resents their father's concern over Joey's lack of direction. One morning, Arthur unexpectedly announces that he wants a separation from his wife and would like to live alone. Eve, who is
clinically depressed Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introd ...
, attempts suicide. The shock of these two events causes a rift among the sisters. Arthur returns from a trip to
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
with Pearl (
Maureen Stapleton Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...
), a high-spirited and more "normal" woman, whom he intends to marry. His daughters are disturbed that Arthur would disregard Eve's suicide attempt and find another woman, to whom Joey refers as a "vulgarian." Arthur and Pearl marry at Arthur and Eve's former summer home, with Renata, Joey and Flyn in attendance. Later in the evening, Joey lashes out at Pearl when Pearl accidentally breaks one of Eve's vases. In the middle of the night, Frederick drunkenly attempts to
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
Flyn. Meanwhile, Joey finds Eve in the house, and sadly explains how much she has given up for her mother, and how disdainfully she is treated. Eve walks out onto the beach and into the surf. Joey attempts unsuccessfully to save Eve, but almost drowns in the attempt. Mike rescues Joey, pulling her to shore, so that Pearl revives the drowned victim by tilting Joey's head back and pinching her nose to administer a cycle of two breaths. The film ends with the family silently attending Eve's funeral, each placing a single white rose, Eve's favorite flower and a symbol of hope to her, on Eve's wooden, perfectly polished coffin, after which all three sisters look out at the sea from their former family beachfront home and comment on how 'peaceful' the sea looks.


Cast


Reception


Box office

''Interiors'' grossed $10.4 million in the United States and Canada.


Critical response

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 ...
, it has an approval rating of 81%, based on reviews from 16 critics, with an average score of 6.8/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 67, based on reviews from 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called the film "beautiful" and complimented
Gordon Willis Gordon Hugh Willis Jr., (May 28, 1931 – May 18, 2014) was an American cinematographer and film director. He is best known for his photographic work on eight Woody Allen films (including ''Annie Hall'' and ''Manhattan''), six Alan J. Pakula fil ...
on his "use of cool colors that suggest civilization's precarious control of natural forces", but noted: Richard Schickel of ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' wrote that the film's "desperate sobriety...robs it of energy and passion"; Allen's "style is Bergmanesque, but his material is Mankiewiczian, and the discontinuity is fatal. Doubtless this was a necessary movie for Allen, but it is both unnecessary and a minor embarrassment for his well-wishers."
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film four stars and praised it highly, writing "Here we have a Woody Allen film, and we're talking about
O'Neill The O'Neill dynasty (Irish: ''Ó Néill'') are a lineage of Irish Gaelic origin, that held prominent positions and titles in Ireland and elsewhere. As kings of Cenél nEógain, they were historically the most prominent family of the Northern ...
and Bergman and traditions and influences? Yes, and correctly. Allen, whose comedies have been among the cheerful tonics of recent years, is astonishingly assured in his first drama."
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...
awarded three stars out of four and wrote:
Charles Champlin Charles Davenport Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014) was an American film critic and writer. Life and career Champlin was born in Hammondsport, New York. He attended high school in Camden, New York, working as a columnist for the '' ...
called the film "somber, intense and stunning," concluding "Like ''
Cries and Whispers ''Cries and Whispers'' ( sv, Viskningar och rop, lit=Whispers and Cries) is a 1972 Swedish period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann. The film, set in ...
,'' Allen's ''Interiors'' is, for all the somberness of the material, in the end an affirmation of life and a transcendent piece of art. The film lovers will love it if joke-seekers do not.
Penelope Gilliatt Penelope Gilliatt (; born Penelope Ann Douglass Conner; 25 March 1932 – 9 May 1993) was an English novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and film critic. As one of the main film critics for ''The New Yorker'' magazine in the 1960s an ...
of ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' wrote: "This droll piece of work is llen'smost majestic so far. The theme its characters express is very Chekhovian. It is pinned to the idea that the hardest, and most admirable thing to do is to act properly through a whole life."
James Monaco James F. Monaco (November 15, 1942 – November 25, 2019) was an American film critic, author, publisher, and educator. Life and Work Monaco founded Baseline in 1982, an early online database about the entertainment industry, and a forerunner o ...
, in his 1979 published book ''American Film Now'', described ''Interiors'' as the most pretentious film by a major American filmmaker in the last 30 years. In 2016, ''Interiors'' was listed as Allen's 11th best film in an article by ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' critics Robbie Collin and Tim Robey, who wrote that "the emotional effort being expended is cumulatively hard to shrug off" and praised Stapleton's performance.


Woody Allen's response

Allen's own fears about the film's reception are recounted in a biography of Allen by
Eric Lax Eric Lax is an American author who has written books on modern medicine, four books on Woody Allen including a biography, and a personal memoir ''Faith: Interrupted'' about his loss of Christian faith. Biography Lax was raised in an Episcopalian ...
, where he quotes
Ralph Rosenblum Ralph Rosenblum (October 13, 1925 – September 6, 1995) was an American film editor who worked extensively with the directors Sidney Lumet and Woody Allen. He won the 1977 BAFTA Award for Best Editing for his work on ''Annie Hall'', and publish ...
, the film's
editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
: Later, while watching the film with an acquaintance, Allen reportedly said "It's always been my fear. I think I'm writing '' Long Day's Journey into Night'' and it turns into ''
Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that netw ...
''." Looking back on the film in 1982, Allen said:


Accolades


Soundtrack

*"Keepin' Out of Mischief Now" (1932) - Written by
Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...
&
Andy Razaf Andy Razaf (born Andriamanantena Paul Razafinkarefo; December 16, 1895 – February 3, 1973) was an American poet, composer and lyricist of such well-known songs as " Ain't Misbehavin'" and " Honeysuckle Rose". Biography Razaf was born in Washi ...
- Performed by
Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...
& His Orchestra *"Wolverine Blues" (1923) - Written by Ferdinand Morton - Performed by The World's Greatest Jazz Band


Popular culture

The plot and characters of ''Interiors'' are alluded to in the
Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...
song "Death of an Interior Decorator" (from ''
Transatlanticism ''Transatlanticism'' is the fourth studio album by indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie, released on October 7, 2003, by Barsuk Records. At this point in their career, the group had toured and recorded for nearly a half-decade. With tensions risin ...
'' (2003)).


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 1978 films 1978 drama films American drama films Films about depression Films about dysfunctional families Films about suicide Films based on works by Ingmar Bergman Films directed by Woody Allen Films produced by Charles H. Joffe Films set in New York (state) Films shot in New York (state) Films shot in New York City Films with screenplays by Woody Allen United Artists films Films about divorce Films about sisters 1970s English-language films 1970s American films