I first saw this film many years ago. I was impressed with it, not so much for the direction, or the material, but because of the fine performances. The acting lifts it out of the domain of the "women's film" or cheap melodrama. Sure, its a strange, uneven little film, but I think that's part of its charm. Leigh's performance was masterful, sad, subtle and wistful. Some of the negative comments here tell me this sort of thing is not for everyone's taste. So be it--the incessant gloom, the odd arty touches (the exotic Roman backdrops, the lyrical depiction of a declining jet set society, the emphasis on shadowy, sombre atmosphere will not appeal to fans of lighter, action oriented fare. I never forgot Leigh's performance (was she really acting?), nor the fantastic, alluring decadence of the atmosphere swirling around her. The other performances were a mixed bag: Lenya as the creepy pimp/countess is superb. She, more than any other player, embodies the selfish spirit of this dreary society of drifters, beggars, pimps and poseurs. Jill St. John is just so-so as a tantalizing young starlet (some really big sixties hair makes her character visually interesting, though). Coral Browne as Karen's best friend is fine, but Warren Beatty as the callow young gigolo doesn't quite fit in. He has the look and the superficial cockiness of a young Italian, but his accent is so terrible--its a major distraction in this undeniably flawed work. For the story--aging Hollywood actress Karen Stone has recently found herself widowed and out of work, perhaps permanently. She jets to Rome to relax, to find a new life--(in other words, a new man.) She meets old friends, then falls in with a suspicious looking crowd of young men and aging American heiresses with time and money to lavish on these young gigolos. Pimps and procurers circle around the scene like vultures, waiting to offer anything, for a price. Lotte Lenya is one of these pimps. She introduces Karen to Paolo, a charming young stud (Warren Beatty, in his famously uneven performance). That relationship gradually spirals downward--Paolo doesn't enjoy being a kept man. Poor, lonely Karen's life spins out of control-she begins to drift, aimlessly. Does the woman have a death wish? After an argument with Paolo she notices a stalker who has been trailing her for weeks. Impulsively, she tosses him her room key, and stealthily he climbs the stairs to her room. What happens next? No explanation is given at the end. Does the man kill her, or does she just offer him a drink? At the end Karen, has, in her own words, "stopped the drift". I imagine the gloomier interpretation is closest to the truth.
Review of The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
