The Turning Point – 1977
This movie had one of the standard Oscar nominated formulas. It was a given that a plot like this one would be nominated for Best Picture. If it had been made in the 1940s I would say that it had rich, white people having emotional crises. But this is the 70s and the trend tended towards middle class people instead of wealthy people. And I found it interesting to learn that the script was “a fictionalized version of the real-life Brown family, and the friendship between ballerinas Isabel Mirrow Brown and Nora Kaye.” It had an element of fantasy and a touch of romance.
But most importantly, it had Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft. MacLaine was the lead, DeeDee, a mother of three who had once given up the life of a prima ballerina to have a family, a choice she regrets and blames on her closest friend. That friend is Emma, played by Bancroft. She gave up the prospect of marital bliss and a family to live the life of a prima ballerina, a choice she doesn’t regret at all.
Add to the mix DeeDee’s eldest daughter, Emilia, played by Leslie Browne. She is an extremely talented ballerina who has the potential to be a world-class dancer. When DeeDee takes her to New York to join Emma’s dance company, she meets the leading male dancer, Yuri, played by Mikhail Baryshnikov. Yuri is a playboy who beds the young Emilia and then breaks her heart when he moves on to his next conquest. The scene where she gets drunk and goes on stage was pretty funny, though maybe slightly unrealistic, as it probably would have ruined her career.
But most of the film’s emotional drama stems from the fact that a jealous DeeDee blames Emma for ruining her own chance at greatness. She claims that when they were both up for the same part, Emma had sabotaged her career to further her own. The friendship between the two women slowly deteriorates until the claws come out, though only briefly. The catfight only lasts a few seconds, but it is enough to show the women how strong their friendship really is.
There are also a couple of minor subplots that I felt had a certain amount of good drama and a fair amount of truth to them. One involves Emma’s admission to the idea that she loves being on stage more than anything, so much so that it can almost be called an obsession. Unfortunately, she is no longer a young woman and she is becoming too old to play the parts she wants to play.
I’ve never been a huge follower of ballet, so the film’s subject matter seemed a little beyond me. But I know enough about it to tell the difference between good dancing and mediocre dancing. That being said, both Browne and Baryshnikov were fantastic, especially in the dance scenes. You could tell that they really knew what they were doing. I thought Baryshnikov did a good enough job as an actor, though his Russian accent was sometimes so strong that it was difficult to understand his dialogue.
Another little subplot that I liked was one that involved DeeDee’s husband Wayne, played by Tom Skerritt. Apparently, he used to be a ballet dancer as well. DeeDee admits to feeling guilty that, by getting pregnant with his child and marrying him, she also ruined his chances at being a professional dancer. She also confesses that part of why she had him get her pregnant was to prove to the rest of the company that he wasn’t gay. His response was perfect. He said that he knew her reasons, wanted to prove the same thing, and loved her enough to give her what she wanted. And as for being a professional, he admits that he never had any delusions that he had the talent for greatness.
But when it came down to it, the film’s drama was a bit too sappy for my tastes. It wasn’t a bad film. It kept my interest well enough, though I thought its pacing was sometimes too slow. MacLaine and Bancroft both did a good job, as did Browne and Baryshnikov. But the emotional content and the drama were just too shallow to elevate the film to ‘gripping’ or ‘deep’.
Still, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the dance sequences. I look at the film as a glimpse into a hoity-toity, high-brow world that I know very little about. I really liked the music and the costumes. And OK. I’ll admit it. I also liked looking at Baryshnikov without his shirt on.