Product: That Cold Day in the Park
Rating: 3.0
Slow development, creepy content and dark lighting make for an occasionally dull movie
This is a dark movie, both in content and in the degree of lighting. Sandy Dennis plays Frances Austin, a single 32-year old woman living alone. As you learn later in the film, her parents are dead and her only interaction is with a group of older people where, with one exception her actual relationship with them is left ambiguous. The exception is an older man that has "designs" on her. Looking out the window on a cold and rainy day, Frances sees a young man sitting on a park bench.She invites him into her home and since he is a bit of a prankster, he pretends to be a mute, although we don't learn that until later in the movie that it is an act. Frances takes his wet clothes, lets him take a hot bath and feeds him. This begins an odd relationship as she buys him things and begins to treat him as a "kept man." She goes out and buys him a complete set of new clothes and tries to get him interested in other things such as music.Frances is a woman whose loneliness had driven her to the very edge of madness, although it is clear that she is a disturbed personality, we have no idea to what extent she is unhinged. The movie moves very slowly in building the situation between Frances and the young man and there are also hints of bizarre behavior on the part of the man.The young man goes back to a houseboat where he lives and finds a woman that lives there in bed with a man. The woman has very little modesty around him, so at first it appears that there is a two-on-one threesome. However, later he uses the word "Mom" to her in a context that indicates that they share a mother. This is especially creepy because the "sister" strips down in front of him and takes a bath and there is a strong hint that they engaged in a sexual act. The "sister" also makes a comment to the young man about not talking for extended periods of time.At times early on you are uncertain who is the most disturbed between Frances and the young man but at the end it is clear which is sane and which is not. Due to the slow development of the story and the subject matter, this is one of those movies that some will detest and others will love. I doubt if there is a great deal of middle ground.