As had so often been the case in the past the best thing about
Alexander Singer's "Psyche '59" is Walter Lassally's luminous
cinematography. This British drama revolves around Patricia Neal,
blinded in an accident but aware that her blindness is psychosomatic and
not physical. She's married to Curd Jurgens and has a flighty younger
sister, (Samantha Eggar), who comes to stay. There's a fourth character
played by Ian Bannen who wanders in and out of their lives.
The movie wasn't
a success despite its excellent cast and has virtually disappeared.
Singer came to the film fresh from his cult classic "A Cold Wind in
August" and perhaps more was expected of him than he delivered. It
doesn't really work as a thriller; plot-wise it's something of a
one-trick pony and outside of its cast of four there is no-one to latch
on to and consequently few red herrings. It might have worked as a tale
of sisterly rivalry if it wasn't so banal and what almost amounts to a
subplot involving Bannen's character almost proves more interesting.
It's not really a bad film, (though the ending is gob-smackingly
awful), just a very strange one and it's easy to see why it flopped.
It's the kind of film that might appeal to the so-called intelligensia
looking for meanings that aren't really there. See it by all means; just
don't expect too much.
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