That Cold Day in the Park

This film requires a lot of patience. Because it focuses on mood and character development, the plot is very simple and many of the scenes take place on the same set - in Frances Austen's (the Sandy Dennis character) apartment. But the film builds to a disturbing climax.

The characters create an atmosphere rife with sexual tension and psychological trickery. It's very interesting that Robert Altman directed this, considering the style and structure of his other films. Still, the trademark Altman audio style is evident here and there. I think what really makes this film work is the brilliant performance by Sandy Dennis. It's definitely one of her darker characters, but she plays it so perfectly and convincingly that it's scary. Michael Burns does a good job as the "mute" young man. Regular Altman player Michael Murphy has a small part. The solemn, moody set fits the content of the story very well. In short, this movie is a powerful study of loneliness, sexual repression, and desperation. Be patient, soak up the atmosphere, and pay attention to the wonderfully written script.

I praise Robert Altman. This is one of his many films that deals with unconventional, fascinating subject matter. This film is disturbing, but it's sincere and it's sure to elicit a strong emotional response from the viewer. If you want to see an unusual film - some might even say bizarre - this is worth the time.

Unfortunately, it's very difficult to find in video stores. You may have to buy it off the internet.

To me, a film like this is too difficult to rate.

The 113-minutes amounts to a slow moving, yet fascinating, study in perverse character. Frances (Dennis) is a rich girl living a lonely repressed life in a ritzy Vancouver apartment. Then one rainy day she spots a young man (Burns) sitting alone in a park across from her rooms. Clearly, he's soaked and suffering, unprotected from the rain, while gazing across at him from her comfy apartment, she's suffering from a cloistered life amongst a suffocating elite. Sensing a bond, she takes him in and comforts him though strangely he never says a word to her. Nonetheless, it seems he's a handsome mute presence that breaks her internal solitude. But how can she keep him there since she's too repressed to express emotion other than acting kindly. At the same time, underneath it all, she secretly yearns for sex, yet in her repressed state can't manage the emotional lead-up. Thus, caught between a rock and a hard place, she locks him in the apartment, while plotting to overcome her frozen lead-up to intimacy.

All in all, Dennis manages a single inscrutable expression throughout, a genuine novelty but true to her character's mental state. Of course, we wonder what's going on with Frances, and at the same time, we wonder about Burns's strangely mute boy. It's this curiosity, I believe, that carries viewers over the flatter spots that stretch out the run-time. I hate to say so but it seems director Altman over-indulges a penchant for dressing and undressing his characters as well as other bits of marginal business. But then, to the delight of most audiences, it is 1968 and decades of censorship are breaking down. In short, the forbidden is no longer forbidden, and Altman joins the crowd, perhaps to a fault.

Too bad the narrative's otherwise pointless moments disrupt rather than intensify the underlying character puzzle. All in all, the result amounts to an over-stretched thriller. But one that still manages to fascinate thanks to an odd premise embodied by the quirky Sandy Dennis.

'That Cold Day In The Park' is an extremely underrated psycho-thriller directed by a pre-fame Robert Altman. Sandy Dennis (who Altman would eventually reunite with on 'Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean' in the early 80s) plays Frances Austen, a repressed thirty-something woman who is trapped in a boring bourgeois life after the death of her mother. She becomes fascinated by the sight of a young man (Michael Burns) who sits in the park getting soaked in the rain. After her guests leave she invites him into her home to get warmed up, and after discovering that he is mute an odd relationship develops between them. We soon find out that he he has the power of speech, but she is none the wiser, and his silence allows her to open up a little. After that things get well, complicated. I don't want to spoil what follows but it's fascinating to watch the events unfold, and Dennis' performance is terrific. Sadly she passed away in the early 1990s, Sean Penn's terrific 'The Indian Runner' being her last movie. I know nothing about Michael Burns, but he is also very good, and the supporting cast includes small but important roles from Altman regular Michael Murphy and cult actress Luana Anders ('Dementia 13', 'Easy Rider', 'Greaser's Palace'). 'That Cold Day In The Park' has been neglected for far too long. It's an excellent movie which I highly recommend.

If you remember how Sandy Dennis charmed your socks off in "Up The Down Staircase," be forewarned, she WILL creep you out in "That Cold Day in The Park." Remember to tell yourself, that this is only a movie, and she was only an actress...and a damned good one.

A rich but lonely spinster, Fraces Austen (Sandy Dennis) invites a stranger, young man (Michael Burns) to her home and lets him live with her.

This movie sounds intriguing because the plot and the promotional materials suggest the subject matter of sex even more so involving an older woman, but if viewed through today's standard, this would likely confuse and could potentially garner the worst rating from its audience. And that is because this movie is totally something different. I say this pertaining to how the story was executed. More recent films tend to spoon-feed moviegoers to avoid alienating them from the story of the movie, but at the expense of losing the audience's active participation. I have realized that the movie holds up because it does not follow that trend. It offers so much more beneath the surface for the thoughtful and patient viewer. This is certainly a film that would get better upon repeated viewings. The performance of Sandy Dennis alone is a testament to that. With her almost blank facial expression, her performance adds to the emotional depth of the character. She is perfect for it. The direction of then newcomer Robert Altman (who would later direct classic films such as Nashville and M.A.S.H.) is rightfully subtle. He was able to both reveal and conceal elements for the benefit of the material.

If you are looking for a movie with straight forward storytelling and a clear quick payoff to enjoy and relax to, this might exhaust and bore you to tears. But if you are interested with unconventional narratives that will make you more an active watcher and immerse you in the subject of psychology or simply in how people in the same position think and behave, this will pass as entertaining to you or even more than that. You will surely be rewarded one way or another.