by Ted Davis

Directed by: David Giles

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Isolated in an island fortress off the Swedish coast, brutal and sadistic artillery captain Edgar (Laurence Olivier) and his bitter and vindictive wife Alice (Geraldine McEwan) approach their 25th wedding anniversary while engaging in the unrelenting and oftentimes savage ritual of taunting and tormenting each other, a contest unwillingly witnessed by Alice’s cousin Kurt (Robert Lang), an alternately dazed and fascinated companion from years gone by. The vicious struggle can have only one inevitable conclusion.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): After experiencing a series of increasingly aggravating exchanges with Alice, which are exacerbated by his morbid fear of death, Edgar is momentarily alone in the fortress and seeks relief by disfiguring Alice’s portrait via target practice with pistol, then hears a mewing from outside. He retrieves the gray cat from the porch, and carries it in his arms up the stairs, all the while weeping and murmuring to the animal, possibly Edgar’s one moment of solace during the movie. (Although the cat is in Strindberg’s play, the movie episode is more detailed.)

Final Mewsings: Cats may be more beneficial to your well-being than matrimony!

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