Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a 1966 American black comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols. Ernest Lehman's screenplay is an adaptation of Edward Albee's play of the same name. It starred Elizabeth Taylor as Martha and Richard Burton as George, with George Segal as Nick and Sandy Dennis as Honey.

The film was nominated for thirteen Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Mike Nichols, and is one of only two films to be nominated in all eligible categories (the other being Cimarron). All four of the film's lead actors were nominated in their respective acting categories. A great success with the public at the time of its premiere, it launched a young filmmaker to fame who in 1967 would reissue the critical and public success with another classic, El graduado.

The film won five awards, including a second Academy Award for Best Actress for Elizabeth Taylor and Best Supporting Actress for Sandy Dennis. However, the film loses out to A Man for All Seasons in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay categories. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States Library of Congress's National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In addition, it is recognized as one of the most important films in Elizabeth Taylor's career, due to her performance and the great cast that makes up the production.

The title makes a reference to the famous writer Virginia Woolf and her last name, using it as a parody of the classic line and song by Frank Churchill and Ann Ronell, "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf ?&#3. 4; ("Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?").

Plot

The film centers on an English New England college neighborhood, based on the volatile relationship of a college history professor named George and his alcoholic wife Martha, who was also the daughter of the college president. George and Martha engage in emotional games with each other, unaware that it is dangerous. They both go to a party and when they leave that place, it was two in the morning, which is why Martha arrives at her house with her husband and they have a little discussion about the Bette Davis movies.

After their discussion, Martha reveals that she had invited a young married couple, whom she met at the party for a drink. George does not accept seeing that it was late, but in the end, he ends up accepting the ideas and decisions of his wife. Then the guests arrive, Nick, a biology teacher (Martha thinks she teaches math in the earlier little discussion) and his wife, Honey. As the four begin drinking, Martha and George are able to verbally abuse in front of the guests, they are embarrassed and reveal that it was better not to go, but later stay after getting entangled with George and Martha's marriage.

Honey and Martha are separated for a while from the spouses, Martha decides to show her friend the house. When they return, Honey reveals that Martha has mentioned matters related to her and George's child and adds that the next day (Sunday) she will mark her sixteenth birthday. George gets angry since he previously asked Martha not to comment on this issue and Martha has divulged this information.

Later, Martha teases George aggressively and he walks away from the guests and his wife to another room in the house. Martha tells a very embarrassing story of how she humiliated George in front of her father. Martha's taunting continues and George reacts violently by grabbing a shotgun and tries to shoot Martha. When shooting, Honey freaks out and screams, but it was an umbrella that she opened while shooting. After this practical joke, Martha continues to make fun of George and he breaks a bottle out of anger at her. Nick and Honey are increasingly unsettled, and Honey soon runs to the bathroom to vomit, due to too much alcohol.

When his guests propose to leave, George insists on taking them home, despite his drunken state. They approach a booth, and Honey suggests they stop to dance. As Honey and George watch, Nick dances suggestively with Martha, who continues to taunt and criticize George. George unplugs the jukebox and announces that the game is over. In response, Martha alludes to the fact that she may have murdered her parents as her protagonist in her unpublished non-fiction novel which prompted George to attack Martha until Nick pulls him away from her. George tells the group about a second novel he supposedly wrote about a young Midwestern couple, a handsome teacher and his shy wife, who marry due to hysterical pregnancy and financial gain, later settling in a small town. university. An embarrassed Honey realizes that Nick indiscreetly told George about his past and runs out of the room. Nick vows to get back at George, and then runs after Honey.

In the parking lot, George tells his wife that he can't stand the way she constantly puts him down, and she mockingly accuses him of marrying her for that very reason. His anger erupts into a declaration of "total war." Martha drives off, retrieving Nick and Honey, leaving George to walk home. When he arrives home, he discovers that the car has crashed on the road with a half-conscious Honey in the back seat and sees Martha and Nick together through the window of the upper bedroom of the house. Through Honey's drunken babbling, George begins to suspect that her pregnancy was real and that he secretly had an abortion. He then devises a plan to get back at Martha.

When Martha accuses Nick of being sexually inadequate, she blames his lack of performance on all the liquor he's consumed. George then appears holding a bouquet of snapdragons, which he throws at Martha and Nick in another scene. He mentions him and Martha's son, prompting her to remember his birth and her childhood and how he was almost destroyed by her father. George accuses Martha of engaging in destructive and abusive behavior towards the boy, who frequently ran away to avoid them. George then announces that he received a telegram with bad news: his son died in a car accident.

When Martha begs George not to "kill" to his child, Nick suddenly realizes the truth: Martha and George had never been able to have children, and they filled the void with an imaginary child. By declaring his son dead, George consequently "murdered" him. George explains that the only mutually agreed-upon rule of his was to never mention the "existence" of the child. of his son to no one else, and that he & # 34; killed him & # 34; because Martha broke that rule by mentioning it to Honey.

The young couple leaves in silence, leaving George and Martha alone at dawn. George begins to sing the song "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", and Martha replies, "It's me, George, it's me."

Cast

• Elizabeth Taylor... Martha
• Richard Burton... George
• George Segal... Nick.
• Sandy Dennis... Honey
• Agnes Flanagan... Mesera
• Frank Flanagan... Manager

Awards

The film was the only Oscar nominee in every category for which it was eligible (film, actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, director, screenplay, art direction/set decorations (white and black), cinematography (black and white), sound, costume design (black and white), music and editing).

Each of the four actors was nominated for an Oscar, but only Elizabeth Taylor (Best Actress Oscar) and Sandy Dennis (Best Supporting Actress Oscar) won. The film also won the Oscar for Best Black and White Cinematography for Haskell Wexler's great camera work (it was the last film to win in that category before it was eliminated). Also received:

• The Oscar to the best art direction B/N
• The Oscar to the best costume design B/N

He also received:

• The BAFTA Award Best movie (Mike Nichols), and the prizes already eliminated, to the Best British actor (Richard Burton) to the Best British actress (Elizabeth Taylor).

• New York Film Critics Circle Awards (New York Film Critics Circle Award) to the best actress (Elizabeth Taylor).

Comments

A great interpretive duel between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, then married, well supported by the other leading couple in the film, George Segal and Sandy Dennis. Famous for containing one of the best performances, if not the best, of Taylor and for a brilliant staging that, without getting rid of its theatrical origin, manages to have its own entity as a feature film.

Critical reception

On review review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 8.53 / 10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Directed by a volcanic performance by Elizabeth Taylor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? It is a scathing adaptation of Edward Albee's play that serves as a brilliant calling card for debut director Mike Nichols". On Metacritic which assigns a weighted average rating to critics, the film has a score of 75 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

In a positive review, Variety wrote that "A rousing adaptation and engaging production by Ernest Lehman, outstanding directing by Mike Nichols in his film debut and four standout performances hit an artistic mark". and, praising Taylor's performance, that her "characterization of her is at once sensual, spiteful, cynical, pitiful, disgusting, lustful, and tender."

Awards

Oscar