The Driver's Seat - 1974

Some actors get a reputation outside of cinema, which affects how they're seen in the public eye, the movies they're cast in, and much more.  This phenomena is not particularly something I care about.  I have always been of the opinion that an actor is an actor.  What they do in their private life doesn't fucking matter.  It has no effect at all on how they act.

I love Daniel Day Lewis.  I tell this to my buddy.  "Dude, Daniel Day Lewis is an asshole," he says.  First of all, how would you know that?  Have you met him?  "Apparently on set Daniel Day Lewis was a major dick to XYZ actor or actress and director."  Obviously if this was Weinstein level bad I'd give a fuck.  But just "being an asshole?"  Who gives a fuck?!  First of all, who knows why he was doing that.  Maybe the actor had it coming.  Second of all, it DOESN'T FUCKING MATTER.  Did it effect Lewis's performance?  Fuck no it didn't, the dude is amazing.

Elizabeth Taylor is an actress like this.  Married like 8 times, bout to fits of weirdness and intensity, she garnered quite a reputation outside of cinemas.  She's a gay icon.  She's controversial.  She has all sorts of legends and cult followings.  Do I give a shit?  Fuck no.  But movies like The Driver's Seat get reputed as legendary because she is acting weird in it, and thus it gets some giant cult following.  Well, okay.  Giant-ish following.  It's not super known.

People do agree with me in their online reviews that this movie induces a general sense of "what the hell?"  It played at Cannes and garnered similar reviews.  It's a movie with an electric feel to it, something you want to watch, but cannot comprehend, and don't know how to interpret.  I watched it with equal parts interest and disgust, love and hate, boredom and intrigue.

Elizabeth Taylor stars as Lise, an eclectic and bizarre, enraged and unexplained character.  She is prone to extremely weird dialogue and actions, doing seemingly incomprehensible things at random.  In the beginning she buys a shirt, then later flips out when she learns it is stain free.  This is by far not out of character for her the way she's written.  This movie was an exercise in having bizarre things for Lise to say and do with nothing to explain or restrain her.

Driver's Seat feels like it was made purely to capitalize on the weirdness factor, which means it's a precursor to the self aware.  Also it was definitely going for the "experimental film" thing.  It even has Andy Warhol in it, in a small role.  Eventually, things do get explained a bit, but not to the point where they make sense.  Just to the point where someone couldn't get mad and say the movie had no plot.

It's not a great film.  It has it's moments of comedy and weirdness and sexuality that shine through, but overall, it just feels like a garbled mess, and it does feel exploitative.  Oh, and surprise surprise, this was a return to the 70's boxset!  I actually went back to it, like a druggie with a bad habit.  I think others would like it way more than I did, but I will still give it 2.5 stars

Guess where two of the stars come from.