A woman walks a razor's edge between reality and madness in this impressionistic drama written and directed by
Robert Altman. Cathryn (
Susannah York) is a woman who begins to suspect that her marriage to Hugh (
René Auberjonois)
is falling apart after receiving a mysterious phone call from a friend
who tells her Hugh has been having an affair. Cathryn herself has not
been happy with Hugh, and years before she took a lover, Rene (
Marcel Bozzuffi),
though he died some time ago in a plane crash. Thinking they both need
to get away, Hugh takes Cathryn to their house in the country, where
Hugh indulges in his hobbies, hunting and photography, and Cathryn works
on a book of fantasy tales for children. Before long, Cathryn begins to
see apparitions of the late Rene around the house, much to her
consternation; while confronting her feelings about the late Rene and
the wandering Hugh, Marcel (
Hugh Millais),
a friend of the couple who makes little secret of his attraction to
Cathryn, arrives for a visit, with his daughter Susannah (
Cathryn Harrison)
in tow. As Rene's appearances become more vivid and Cathryn reaches the
end of her tether, she begins to drift deeper into a fantasy world,
where it's difficult to tell what is real and what is imagined.
Beautifully shot on striking locations in Ireland by
Vilmos Zsigmond,
Images earned Susannah York an award as Best Actress at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival.
