That Cold Day in the Park

One of the gifted Robert Altman's earliest and most underrated films, and a real showcase for the exceptionally talented Sandy Dennis who is at her best as the deluded heroine. Granted, Dennis has been known to overact a time or two, but definitely not here. She delivers a quietly intense, effective performance that sticks with you. If you're a Dennis devotee like me, THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK is a terrific little gem you simply can't afford to miss. Michael Burns, as the odd young man that Dennis takes under her wing, also does well in his role, but the film belongs to Sandy who should have won a second Oscar for this film(she won the Academy Award three years earlier for her scene-stealing supporting role in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?). Altman should have also won an Oscar for his superb direction. This dark, disturbing drama makes a great companion piece to William Wyler's THE COLLECTOR. After watching both films innumerable times, I still find it difficult to say which is the better flick. If I absolutely had to choose between this dynamic duo, I'd choose THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK.

What I find remarkable about this terrific film, is that Altman, the crazy and wild guy that he is, took the novel THAT COLD DAY IN THE PARK and the Sandy Dennis character was originally a male in the book. He was a mentally whacked out isolated gay who looked out of his apartment window when he spotted the hustler. It is strange that Altman fans aren't aware of how clever he was to change the sex of the main character; thereby avoiding the homo erotic taboos of gay life in the 60's and actually making Dennis' reclusive kind of madness work even better in the transposition.If you see the film again, it will be evident how wily the Altman mind works...

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.

Robert Altman is one of my favorite directors, and I had succeeded in seeing all but two of the many films he made during his career: "Health" and "That Cold Day in the Park." Neither were available anywhere to see for the longest time, and then a month ago or so the Gene Siskel Film Centre in Chicago had "That Cold Day" on its calendar, so I finally got a chance to review it.

It's a much better movie than I had expected given its obscurity and the dismissive response from critics and audiences upon its release. It's the first of four dream films centering on the psychological distress of primarily female protagonists that Altman would make over the course of his career. Sandy Dennis plays a Canadian spinster who takes in a younger man who's only too happy to let her buy him clothes, food, etc. There is no sexual component to their transaction, but the sexual tension nonetheless builds to a breaking point, at which point Dennis's character goes off the rails in a macabre finale.

Dennis is quite good and tones down her mannered acting habits. The film stylistically bears many of the hallmark Altman traits, like images broken up and refracted in reflective surfaces or the roving camera that will zoom in on a particular detail. I quite enjoyed this film and think that it deserves more mention in discussions about Altman's canon than it customarily receives.

Grade: A-

Sandy Dennis plays a lonely woman who sees a young man sitting on a park bench in the rain and invites him in to dry off. He does not speak and she feeds him and buys him new clothes to wear. Dennis is perfect as the troubled lady with severe mental issues. She lives in a world of intense sexual repression, which is never fully explained. The boy turns out to be involved with the 1960's drug and free love culture. The finale is heart breaking and Robert Altman went on to a successful directorial career. Dennis won a Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and she should have one another for this film.