ARTS
The Michigan Daily Wednesday, September 30, 1981 Page 5

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William Hurt : Exudes sexuality


Stear
eerie
By ADAM KNE
Lawrence Kasdan's Bod
steamy, stylish thriller1
viewers directly into its wo
and sexual obsession. Fron
surreal opening credit seq
slow motion images of a bi
tain and of the curves of a1
tial darkness, the film se
heatedly sensual moodc
shake off.
BODY HEAT presents'
small-time, disreputable a
Racine (William Hurt),1
passionate love affairv
Walker (Kathleen Turner),I
wealthy landowner. Out of1
each other and for money, t
tually carry out a plan to1
husband-an act that has re
Racine has not planned on.
affair quickly turns into
nightmare.
ALTHOUGH THIS film
present-day Florida, it has
feel of a '40s thriller-as mu
recent The Postman Alm
Twice, which was set in
era America. This is par

ny bodies,
intrigue
EE Racine is himself an anachronism. He
ty Heat is a dresses notably more conservatively
that draws than the modern-day characters again-
)rld of greed st whom he is set off. He dislikes rock
m its almost music, he lives in a turn-of-the-century
quence, with house, and he drinks "bourbon, any
illowing cur- kind, on the rocks."
body in par- These traits are all symptomatic of
ts an eerie, Racine's boyish, but admirable,
one cannot romanticism-a romanticism straight
out of '40s Hollywood. Walker picks
the story of right up on his naivete and eventually
ttorney Ned uses it to manipulate him to her advan-
who has a tage. As she reveals when she teases
with Matty him at their first meeting, "You're not
the wife ofa too smart, are you? I like that in a
lust both for man."
he two even- But Racine's character alone is not
kill Matty's what imparts such a distinctive feel to
epercussions this film. The credit for that goes
His dreamy largely' to Lawrence Kasdan, who
a loveless makes an impressive directorial debut
here, working from his own script. He
n is set in takes painstaking care with each of the
the distinct film's visual aspects, weaving a lush
uch so as the atmospheric tapestry against which he
ways Rings presents the story of human drives and
depression- cruel fate.
tly because FOR EXAMPLE, Kasdan utilizes a
careful, organic color and lighting
scheme, which pivots around the crux
of the plot: the husband's murder. The
film works completely in sensual
reds-through wardrobes, lighting, and
settings-until that act. Then, with
Racine's heated fantasy shattered,
there is a switch to a context of cold,
harsh blues.
Kasdan's compositions also demon-
g strate an exceptional dynamism.
Characters' physical placement' with
respect to others consistently reflects
sing subtler their emotional relationships; as
comes truly Racine and Walker grow emotionally
a is Council more distant, they are separated by
doorways or rooms, or they are placed
end of the in entirely different shots. Composition
n as a whole is also used It6 underscore individual
rquis (John characters' inner emotional states;
nt (Frik Racine, for example, is imprisoned in
imor to the his venetian blind-fortified office.
off of each Continually flowing camerawork and
irandolina's musical score serve to give Body Heat a
stereotypes hypnotic lyricism out of another era of
ick charac- filmmaking. We are caressed by soft
isider what music as the camera slowly tracks and
s of them. cranes through white mists, over satin
nes are the sheets, and along supine bodies.
res in this BUT WHEN THE film's pace picks'
nge as they up, the camera certainly complies. For
ian theater, example, before the pair's first sexual
actors are encounter, the camera concentrates
the last ruf- steadily and close-up on Racine's face
style is not See BODY, Page 7
tho hA 1CSeBDPgi

'Mir ndolina'
Farce shows no signs of agiti

By GAIL NEGBAUR
An actor sits center stage, stretched
out and reading a script. Others enter
donchalantly, moving scenery and tur-
ning cartwheels. A fist fight begins but
is quickly broken up.
No, this is not a Public Television
production of Backstage at the Met. It
is Mirandolina, the Michigan Ensemble
Theater's first production of the season.
The idea works quite well. The Men-
delssohn stage, where the play will con-
tinue its run October 1-4, is swiftly tran-
sformed into the "Teatro Gorgone" in
Florence around 1753. And surprisingly
enough, Mirandolina, an Italian farce
by Carlo Goldoni, remains a great
comic satire after nearly 230 years.
BENEATH THE comic surface of the
play, Mirandolina ("Mistress of the
Inn") is the story of how a woman runs
a successful business on her own in the
18th century.
John Going's approach in directing
has been to, take the story as a farce,
leaving any serious meaning behind. In
light of this, the MET's production is a
successful one.
Much of the acting is good-it should
be, since most of the actors are
professionals. But the focus of the play
is badly misplaced. The leading
character should be Mirandolina (Lynn
Milgrim), but in this production there is
no question that she is not.
MIRANDOLINA must resort to many
of the stereotypical traits of the cunning
and deceptive woman in order to keep
*her inn respectable and her guests hap-
_y. For a while, she succeeds. Every
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man she meets falls in love with her: a
Count insists on giving her diamonds, a.
Marquis constantly offers the protec-
tion of his moneyless title, and
everyone else declares true love over
and over. Without returning any gifts or
discouraging the attention, Miran-
dolina manages to keep them all at a
safe distance.
Yet through all of this, Milgrim is
passive and almost boring compared to
Tony Risoli, who plays Mirandolina's
flamboyant servant. Risoli is a haim,
and insists on being center stage con-
stantly. This distorts the entire
meaning of the play: When he should be
heartbroken and jealous of her lack of
attention, he is silly and flamboyant.
Why Mirandolina even puts up with
him, let alone encourages him, is in-
conceivable.
Richard Council is also disappoin-
ting, as the Cavaliere di Ripafratta.
Amusingly referred to as a woman-.
thrope, the Cavaliere catches Miran-
dolina off guard by his attitude when he
comes to the inn. After he declares that
he hates women, Mirandolina vows to
teach him a lesson by making him fall
in love with her.
AGAIN, SHE succeeds in her wish,
but also gets more than she bargained
for. The Cavaliere becomes infatuated
and nearly crazy with desire for her.
Unfortunately, Council has a problem
common to actors: Expressing strong
feelings seems to come much more

easily to him than express
emotions. Only when he bec
infatuated with Mirandolin
finally believable.
All turns out well in the
comedy, and the production
comes out well. The Mai
Wylie) and the Cou
Fredericksen) add real hu
play as they skillfully play
other in attempts to win M
heart. Both are buffoonish
of the nobility, true slapst
ters who never once con
Mirandolina probably thinks
But the sets and costum
really outstanding featur
production. The scenes cha
would in the authentic Ital
with an orderly chaos. The
18th-century actors down toI
fle. And, while much of the
considered modern theater,
much easier to understand a
such impressive backg
costumes.


, ne snow is
as a result of
round and


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u The way opera should be given and seldom is.
-- The Baltimore Sun

Candace Goetz, soprano Thomas Hammons, bass-baritone
Donna Anna, a-Spanish Leporello, servant to Don
noblewoman Giovanni
Scheduled for Sunday's performance

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Goldovsk y Opera Company
Mozc rt's 'Doni ovcnni"
inEnglish
6aL.,OcL.10 otO 00
Gun.,Oct.. lIct 300
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