Remember My Name

In Director Alan Rudolph's REMEMBER MY NAME, Neil and Barbara Curry (Anthony Perkins and Berry Berenson) find themselves haunted by a bizarre woman (Geraldine Chaplin) who simply appears in their town one day. As the story unfolds, the woman becomes increasingly unhinged and more of a danger.

We eventually learn that Neil has a past connection with this woman, and that there's far more to the story than what we initially thought.

Mr. Rudolph keeps the tone of his film somber, with a definite hint of creepiness. Mr. Perkins uses his powers of twitchiness to help add to the overall oddness. Ms. Berenson -real-life wife of Mr. Perkins- plays her role with just the right amount of sane incredulity.

Special mention must go to Ms. Chaplin, whose portrayal of seemingly unfettered psychopathy is a wonder to behold! Some of her character's escapades are uncomfortably jaw-dropping and squirm-inducing!

Watch for Jeff Goldblum in a small early role as a store owner.

A strange thriller full of unexpected events...

After carving out eccentric, obtuse molds for her personality while co-starring in Robert Altman's "Nashville" and Alan Rudolph's "Welcome to L.A.", Geraldine Chaplin finally earned a full-bodied (though still utterly eccentric) leading role in Rudolph's "Remember My Name", which was produced by Robert Altman. Chaplin plays an ex-convict and sociopath seeking a reunion with her former husband, a carpenter who has remarried and resides on the west coast; lacking interpersonal skills of any kind, she decides to get his attention by stalking he and his wife and breaking into their house. Intriguing, if unpleasant, modern-day melodrama with noir-ish overtures, made memorable by Chaplin's high-wire performance. Tough and unyielding, and possibly schizophrenic, Chaplin creates a portrait of a woman obsessed by the past, and wilting under the untouchable persona she has created for herself. The narrative goes a little batty in the final stretch, leading to a perplexing conclusion; however, the film's detached tone is very deliberate and assured--it creates a monotone ambiance which is hard to shake off. Director Rudolph, who also wrote the screenplay, seems to feel this material very deeply. It's a twisted and melancholy valentine. **1/2 from ****

No nonsense, highly manipulative Emily (Geraldine Chaplin) has just been released from prison after serving twelve years for murder and her approach to life is to tackle anyone who tries anything on with her. Upon leaving jail she immediately and inexplicably starts harassing Neil (Anthony Perkins) and his wife Barbara (Berry Berenson) for reasons that eventually become clear.

Decidedly offbeat seventies noir revenge thriller / drama which is both atmospheric and defiantly a little bit strange. It remains interesting and occasionally thrilling thanks to strong direction and a complex off kilter performance by Chaplin with Perkins impressive playing an atypical character for him and really well.

I suppose the main criticism you can level against a film like REMEMBER MY NAME is that it has a distinctly tame, quiet, television-movie style feel to it, so that the drama feels oddly muted for a movie made for the cinemas. It's a late '70s stalker story along the lines of PLAY MISTY FOR ME, although not quite as good as the Eastwood movie.

What REMEMBER MY NAME does have going for it is an excellent cast of past and future stars who enliven an otherwise ordinary tale. The story involves a seemingly happily married couple who are disturbed by the arrival of the husband's old flame who seems obsessed with resuming their relationship. What follows is quietly gripping in places, although the film as a whole is let down by a non-existent ending and a definite lack of incident.

Anthony Perkins is excellent at playing these mild-mannered characters hiding dark secrets but the real acting honours go to Geraldine Chaplin, who invests her disturbed character with real authenticity; she's absolutely frightening in the part. The supporting cast includes plenty of faces who would go on to become famous in the future: Tim Thomerson, Dennis Franz, and best of all a skinny Jeff Goldblum. Blaxploitation actor Moses Gunn also has a role.

Geraldine Chaplin's character has been in prison for years. She murdered her husband's (Tony Perkins') lover. She leaves prison institutionalized and inept and full of vengeance. She begin to stalk the ex- and his wife, damaging property and actually invading the home and confronting her. Of course, she has reason for anger in the most unbalanced of ways. Geraldine Chaplin does a great job in what is mostly a plodding film. We have to feel sorry for her in a way because she has been robbed of the tools to integrate into society and, instead, keeps the tunnel vision going. Perkins is, as usual, pretty weird, and still seems to have some feelings toward here. It's an intense, uncomfortable film, with a very good soundtrack.