When I first saw this movie in the late 1970s I was bowled over by how emotionally raw and vulnerable the characters of Minnie Moore & Seymour Moskowitz were. Actress Gina Rowlands was very believable in her characterization and some of the dialogue in this I thought was quite memorable.
Now upon seeing it again some 30 years later (& being older myself), I see again Minnie's raw emotions and understand that she WANTS to feel (at one point she says she admires people who can really feel or something to that effect). Seymour is actually much more emotionally volatile than what I remember.
This film is a character study is what I guess it is referred to. I saw it initially as a love story and believe it still is. It has much of the look and style and attitude of the time it was made (1971), and Seymour's long hair and somewhat "hippie" look would've made him possibly suspect in the eyes of middle America at that time. While Seymour's volatility exhibits his own emotional rawness, he has something of a heart of gold and he is who he is. I think this movie still holds up and it has a level of emotional excitement that makes it appealing.
Now upon seeing it again some 30 years later (& being older myself), I see again Minnie's raw emotions and understand that she WANTS to feel (at one point she says she admires people who can really feel or something to that effect). Seymour is actually much more emotionally volatile than what I remember.
This film is a character study is what I guess it is referred to. I saw it initially as a love story and believe it still is. It has much of the look and style and attitude of the time it was made (1971), and Seymour's long hair and somewhat "hippie" look would've made him possibly suspect in the eyes of middle America at that time. While Seymour's volatility exhibits his own emotional rawness, he has something of a heart of gold and he is who he is. I think this movie still holds up and it has a level of emotional excitement that makes it appealing.