Puzzle Of A Downfall Child (1970)

Photographer Jerry Schatzberg interviewed 1950s supermodel Anne St. Marie so he could tell her story in (and direct) his first film Puzzle of A Downfall Child starring Faye Dunaway as a supermodel being interviewed by a photographer. The film is nicely composed but the story of unlikable people smacks of self importance and pretension; hell, two characters don't even speak in contractions which is a noticeable anachronism. It's talky and pretty boring, and Dunaway (despite her youth and obvious beauty) is sometimes photographed in an unflattering fashion even before her character's downfall.

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The Handmaid's Tale (1990)

Made almost twenty years ago, The Handmaid's Tale is prescient in its depiction of religious extremism and its takeover of a nation. Ultimately though its a barren film adaptation of the Margaret Atwood novel about barren women and the handmaids who procreate for them. Natasha Richardson, Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway and Aidan Quinn all do a fine job and the film holds interest but it is emotionless.

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Bonnie and Clyde (1968)

Bonnie and Clyde has been, and still is, one of my top ten favorites of all time. It's got Faye, Warren, Arthur Penn on the megaphone and Theadora van Runkle on the needle and thread - am I missing something here? It is thrilling, stunning to look at, classic and worth multiple viewings because they rob banks.

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