X, Y & ZEE 1972lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2016/04/x-y-zee-1972.html

Warning: Spoiler Alert. This is a critical essay, not a review, so plot points are revealed for the purpose of discussion.

She’s at that awkward age. Seventies-era Elizabeth Taylor, that is. Starting out as an exceptionally pretty childactress, Taylor grew into a breathtakingly beautiful movie star who then became (with the assist of Eddie Fisher,Richard Burton, and “le scandale”) a world-class homewrecker and tabloid darling. Over time came the respect andlegitimacy of two Academy Award wins (Butterfield 8, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ), too soon supplanted by theundesired notoriety as the star of several costly, eccentric flops. Come the ‘70s, Taylor seemed to settle into a kind ofteetering-on-the-edge-of-irrelevance fame which cast her as the walking embodiment of movie star excess, symbolof fishbowl-celebrity victimization, and the near-obsessive object of keyhole journalism. She was a public figurenoted more for her jewels, illnesses, and fluctuating waistline than for her talent as an actress.

Elizabeth Taylor as Zee Blakeley

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Michael Caine as Robert Blakeley

Susannah York as Stella

I was 15 in 1972, and had you asked me then to name an actress, I would have named Glenda Jackson, JaneFonda, or Faye Dunaway. If you’d asked me to name a movie star, in a heartbeat I’d have said Elizabeth Taylor. Shewas in a different category, altogether. Why? Certainly not because I was so familiar with her work. No, at agefifteen I had only seen Taylor in a couple of movies on The Late Late Show and only Who’s Afraid of VirginiaWoolf? and Secret Ceremony in theaters. The reason Elizabeth Taylor represented and defined movie stardom forme was because, for as long as I could remember and as far back as memory served, there had not been a singlemonth in the entirety of my childhood that didn’t find Elizabeth Taylor’s face gracing the cover of a magazine,newspaper, or scandal-sheet. She was famous to me before I even knew what famous was.

But by 1972 Elizabeth Taylor had become an in-betweener. An eminent member of old-guard Hollywood too youngto be nostalgically “hip” like Alexis Smith and Ruby Keeler (both of whom enjoyed brief career resurgences onBroadway in 1971: Follies and No, No Nanette, respectively); too big a star to go the put-out-to-pasture, weekly TVseries route taken by Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, and Shirley MacLaine (all starring in short-lived TV showsduring the 1971-1972 season); and yet too old to be taken seriously in the "New Hollywood" which cast her (preposterously) as a mini-skirted Las Vegas showgirl(!) carrying on an affair with 5-years-younger Warren Beattyin The Only Game in Town (1970).

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Granted far too little screen time (but making the most of it in a see-through frock)the fabulous Margaret Leighton plays party-giving socialite, Gladys. She could

be the prototype for Ab Fab's Patsy

One of Taylor’s biggest drawbacks was that she looked like a movie star in an era valuing gritty naturalism andactors who more resembled regular folks. In a time when roles were written for people who looked like Karen Black,Elliot Gould, and Dustin Hoffman, Elizabeth Taylor stood out for all the wrong reasons. A de-glamorized Taylortended to look matronly (something both her fans and detractors never let her forget), while an in-step-with-the-timesTaylor (she was only 38 when X, Y & Zee began filming) came across like a trying-too-hard fashion trainwreck(something evident in most every frame of X, Y & Zee).Seventies youth-oriented fashions were unique in that they seemed tocome with built-in lie-detectors; they invariably made those who sought toappropriate the look of the “now” generation look infinitely older, notyounger. Elizabeth Taylor’s short-stature and curvy figure (so fetching inthe hourglass silhouettes of the ‘50s and ‘60s) was ill-served by the brightcolors and form-fitting cut of mod and hippie chic. When she wasn’tlooking like a Technicolor butterfly in blowsy caftans and height-reducingponchos, she was encased and cocooned in trendy synthetics thatappeared as uncomfortable as they were unflattering.

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As for her film career: the all-encompassing scope of Taylor’s tabloid notoriety, spate of ill-advised self-referentialmovie roles (audiences treated every Taylor/Burton film pairing as a dramatized glimpse into the couple’s real life),and stunt-like TV guest appearances (on the daytime soap All My Children and Here’s Lucy ‒both in 1970), allconspired to make it next to impossible for audiences to accept her in a movie as anybody but herself.

What was a contemporary cinema demi-goddess to do?

Well, one solution – especially if one was as in need of a hit as Taylor at the time – was to give ‘em what theywanted. And to a large degree that’s exactly what X, Y & Zee does. Author Edna O’Brien’s original screenplay abouta toxic romantic triangle among London’s tony set (originally titled Zee & Co.), is an acerbic black comedy-dramawhich appears to have been whittled and shaped to suit the talents and persona of its star. (O'Brien contends that asmany as four writers tinkered with her script...even changing her original ending - reportedly involving a ménage àtrois - to a lesbian conquest.)

Elizabeth Taylor portrays Zee Blakeley, the coarse, overdressed vulgarian wife of shout-talk architect, RobertBlakeley (Michael Caine). Theirs is a sophisticated open marriage. A decidedly rocky one, however, sustained byconstant bickering, wicked parry and thrust verbal matches, and relentless game-playing of the sexual one-upsmanship sort. This dysfunctional breakup-to-makeup cycle is disrupted when Robert meets and instantly falls inlove with the serene Stella (the lovely Susannah York sporting the most astoundingly-constructed 70s shag), awidowed dress designer (who's boutique is named...appropriately enough...Kaftan) with twin little boys.As the younger other woman who has caught both Robert’s eye and exceedingly fickle heart, Stella exudes anintelligence and sensitivity making it difficult to understand what she sees in the lizard-eyed lothario - beyond theflattery of the ardency of his pursuit. As for Robert, it’s clear Stella represents an opportunity for a little peace andquiet and a little less fashion eye-strain.

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"I think she looks like a bag of bones."Zee and best friend Gordon (John Standing) size up the competition

What ensues I can only speculate was intended to be a three-pronged war of wills in which everyone’s desires areultimately revealed to be selfish in nature and motivated by rescue, dependency, or escape. What is actually servedup is a one-woman battle and full-on frontal assault waged by Zee against Robert and Stella (both hopelesslyoutmatched) as she resorts to every trick in the book—and a few no one had yet dared think of—to keep her manand assure that things remain as they are.

Screenwriter O’Brien, having fairly exhausted the whole "modern marriage under stress" topic in 1969’s dramaticallymore satisfying Three Into Two Won’t Go (where Rod Steiger’s uncooked pastry dough countenance strains thecredibility of his being cast as the apex of a triangle) strives for a tone of sophisticated cynicism and candor in X, Y &Zee, a note or two of which is occasionally hit. But for the most part, Taylor & Co. seem content to merely capitalizeon and exploit every ounce of self-referential humor and drama possible.

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The result: Elizabeth Taylor’s Zee, balancing on the brink self-parody and frequently leaping headlong into camp, isless a character than a burlesque amalgam of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ’s Martha; Leonora, the scatterbrainedchatterbox from Reflections in a Golden Eye; the claws-out Maggie from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ; and snatch-and-grab bits culled from years of Taylor’s press clippings.

Taylor makes knowing, self-aware jokes about her weight- Zee: “Real men don’t like skinny women. They only think they do because they’re supposed to look better inclothes. But what happens when the clothes come off and you climb between the sheets on a cold winter night?Then they like to know they’re with a real woman.”

Taylor turns critical barbs into self-directed comedy-Robert: “She (Stella) suggests you open a fish store.”

Taylor indulges her well-documented bawdy sense of humor-Zee: "Frankly Scarlett, I don't give a shit!"

Taylor reprises Maggie the Cat-Zee: (On phone to Stella)“Is my husband in your skinny, chicken-like arms?”

Taylor reprises Virginia Woolf's Martha- Zee: “Come back here, you! I haven’t dismissed you yet!”

And, of course, with each scene of Taylor and Caine whaling on and wailing at one another between bouts of heatedmake-up sex, the tumultuous real-life Taylor/Burton union (which had about two more years to go) is evoked and(the audience hopes) reenacted.

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Taylor, while balancing an enormous mane of Medusa hair, drowning in a fashion-parade of gaudy, sail-like caftans, and risking violet eye-shadow poisoning, givesa performance that is by turns unsubtle, nuanced, hilarious, knowing, touching,

and assured

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS FILMI imagine the mental calisthenics a writer must perform in order to come up with something new to say about theromantic triangle are considerable. Edna O’Brien’s tack seems to be to examine what binds people together in anatmosphere of unbridled license. The Beautiful People populating X, Y & Zee are a rarefied set. Unlike thepenniless, free-love hippies espousing freedom and “doing your own thing” in the atmosphere of the sexualrevolution, the hedonistic individuals at the center of the film have both the wealth and autonomy to be truly free. Andtherein lies the problem.Without the need to be tethered or tied to anyone, the whole idea of marriage and morality becomes confoundinglyfluid. No one can be accused of cheating because cheating first presumes the existence of rules. And from what littlewe glean from this couple's past (Zee can’t have children and pets die on them with tragic regularity), like Albee'sGeorge and Martha, game-playing replaced rules for Zee and Robert long ago.

The introduction of Stella into the middle of this duo is significant. Stella, unlike Zee, is a working woman, andRobert, a self-made man, is wealthy but proud of his humble beginnings. Stella—calm in the face of Zee’sexcitability, soft-spoken to Zee’s shrillness—also wears around her neck a Quran case amulet (an Islamic protectivetalisman which plays an important but subtle role in the film’s conclusion) suggesting a spirituality and connection tosomething outside of herself…another attribute lacking in Zee. Add to this the fact that Stella also has two childrenwith whom Robert immediately develops a rapport, and we come to understand why Zee recognizes in Stella, noordinary rival.

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Both Susannah York and Michael Caine give noteworthy performances

This is the core conflict in X, Y & Zee, and while not earth shatteringly profound stuff, it makes for compelling humandrama and (in the film's quieter moments) is exceptionally well-played by the cast

THE STUFF OF FANTASYAlas, quiet moments in X, Y & Zee are pretty hard to come by. As directed by Brian G. Hutton ( Night Watch) X, Y &Zee is a crudely funny, visually flashy, magnificently photographed, and exceedingly noisy movie. Perhaps in aneffort to better fashion O’Brien’s 3-character story into a star vehicle, X, Y & Zee not only tells the story from Zee’sperspective (which I can understand), but allows Zee’s aesthetics (loud music, loud clothing, and shriekingwhenever possible) to become the film’s defining motif.

I'm aware that the '70s presents its own unique challenges if one's intention is to depict a character as vulgar andcoarse, and it’s a great deal of campy fun having Elizabeth Taylor run full-throttle diva roughshod over every and all;but it does tend to unbalance the narrative, making it difficult for the dramatic sequences to hit their stride. As a hugefan of Mike Nichols’ poorly-received 2004 comedy-drama Closer (about two sets of couples endlessly circling oneanother), I think X, Y & Zee could have benefited from a similarly deft balancing of the serio with the comic.

PERFORMANCESAs stated in previous posts, my respect for and appreciation of Elizabeth Taylor was rather late in coming, makingme wonder what I would have made of X, Y & Zee had I seen it when it was released to theaters in January of1972. Because it plays so strongly to what I once thought were her weaknesses (her voice, her sometimes too-knowing camp appeal) I don’t think I would have rated it very highly.

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Today is a different story. Maybe it’s my own age (I’m 20 years older than Taylor in this film), maybe it’s nostalgia forthe era (the ‘70’s never looked more Austin Powers-like), and most definitely it’s the dawning awareness that her likeis nowhere to be found on movie screens today; but I think Taylor is damn good in this movie. As funny as she is inthe first part (a broad performance not likely to win over detractors) she truly shines and is quite moving in thesecond half. I’ve seen X, Y and Zee several times, and while I find it to be uneven (I can understand Edna O'Brien'sdissatisfaction with the script) I can't deny that I have - to quote the poster - an absolute ball watching it.

In Richard Burton's published diary he wrote of how there was a genuine beliefthat X, Y and Zee would be the much-needed boxoffice hit for Elizabeth. Alas, it

proved to be just another in a string of underperforming films whichcharacterized her latter-day career. Taylor never stopped being a star, but she

never again rose to the heights of her '60s film popularity.

I especially like Susannah York. Her character doesn’t fully make sense to me, but York's performance is so naturaland seems to come from a place of clear understanding on her part, I feel I'm always struggling to get up to speed.She draws me into her character in search of what I'm positive I'm missing. The scenes between Taylor and York aremy favorites. The hospital scene being a real standout...both are just tremendously affecting together. In the buddy-film atmosphere of the ‘70s, not many big female stars were cast opposite other women, and I forever bemoan whatwas potentially lost in not having any women’s films comparable to the pairings of Redford and Newman.

X, Y and Zee 's meta credentials don't stop with allusions to Taylor's previousroles as overbearing shrews. Susannah York's casting (her part was said to havefirst been offered to Julie Christie) harkens back to her controversial role in 1968s

The Killing of Sister George

THE STUFF OF DREAMSCouldn't sign off on X, Y and Zee without commenting on two non-Elizabeth Taylor-related favorite things about the

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film. One is the luminous cinematography of Billy Williams (Women in Love, Night Watch). Maybe it's the pristinequality of the DVD, but I never noticed before how burnished everything (and everyone) looks. The garish '70s decorand fashions pop off the screen creating a glitzy world of numbing sensual overkill.

X, Y and Zee goes for every "sophisticated" and "adult" credit it can get byhaving two featured gay characters. Michael Cashman is Gavin, an employee atStella's shop. Cashman, whose character Zee mordantly describes as a "poncylittle fag" is, in real life, currently a member of British Parliament and the Labour

Party's special envoy on LGBT issues worldwide. So shove it, Zee!

Second is the film's musical theme, the eloquent ballad, "Going in Circles" by Ted Myers & Jaianada. The lovelylyrical version played under the film's opening credits sets the tone for a film which doesn't arrive until about 45-minutes in, and the closing vocal version I can't reliably attribute to a singer. Internet sources cite Three Dog Night,but they recorded a cover version on an album which sounds nothing like the one in the film. Someone once told meit's Three Dog Night producer Richard (Harry) Podolor. Further confusing the issue, a friend who claims to have seenthe film when it was originally released says that Three Dog Night sang over the closing credits originally, but whenthe film came to VHS and DVD they replaced their version (copyright issues?) with the one we now hear (who that isI still don't know). In any event, it's a graceful song and curiously ideal for this not very well-regarded little film thathas become one of my favorite Elizabeth Taylor vehicles.

Zee: "He loves his little games. Do you play?"Stella: "I’m afraid I don’t."Zee: "Nor do I."

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BONUS MATERIALAs a possible solution to the above quandary, I found this poster image onlinewhich contains a sticker promoting Three Dog Night singing "Going in Circles"in the film. (click on poster to enlarge)

One of my favorite Elizabeth Taylor clips: Taylor presenting at the 1981 TonyAwards. She's really adorable and infectiously hilarious.

Copyright © Ken Anderson

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