Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970) Film Review A+

DIRECTOR: Frank Perry

BOTTOM LINE: The last movie that director Frank Perry and his screenwriter wife Eleanor made together was their best. An excellent adaptation of the bestselling novel “Diary of a Mad Housewife” by Sue Kaufman, it stars Carrie Snodgress as Tina, an upper-middle-class housewife who gets no respect from either her whining and demanding husband (Richard Benjamin) or her arrogant and demanding lover (Frank Langella, making his film debut). Both Jonathan and George exploit Tina emotionally, leaving her trapped between two toxic relationships. In the end, Tina returns to her husband and begins group therapy, suggesting resignation rather than liberation. The film closes ambiguously, highlighting her entrapment in a cycle of abuse and dissatisfaction

The movie’s only sour note, a product of its times, is that Langella’s character turns out to be gay, thus explaining all the nasty things he did to Tina throughout their relationship.

Snodgress is breathtakingly good and should have won the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar. Instead, she lost to Glenda Jackson in “Women in Love.”

Alice Cooper and his band make a cameo appearance during a party scene. The song is “Ride with Me Baby.”

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