and I don't have a background that remotely resembles Wanda's.
When we first meet Wanda she is sleeping on her sister's couch. Her sister's baby is crying inconsolably, her brother-in-law gives Wanda a derisive look and says he won't have any coffee as he leaves for work. Wanda tells her sister that he is angry for her being there, and she's probably right. Wanda looks out the window and all she can see for miles is a Pennsyvania coal slag - no trees, no grass, no flowers. So this dismal existence is that of the SUCCESSFUL sister! Next we see Wanda walking across the coal country, her hair in curlers. She is headed to court and she is late. In the meantime, her husband is bad mouthing her to the judge, saying that she is always drunk, not watching the kids. When Wanda finally enters the courtroom, her children don't even acknowledge her as mom. Wanda, a woman beaten down by life in her 20s, says her husband can have whatever he wants, that the kids will be better off with him.
Afterwards, she goes to somebody she worked two days for as a seamstress in an assembly line environment and says she has not gotten all of her pay. In spite of the fact that the guy is lying to her and cheating her, she says she still wants a job there. The employer tells her she is too slow, not even good enough to do the dullest and most mechanical of jobs. She goes to a bar, and the next scene is in a seedy motel room, with Wanda asleep and a man she met in the bar, obviously regretting that Wanda didn't automatically disintegrate past the point of consummation, is readying to run out on her, except she awakens, dresses quickly, and jumps into his car just as he peels off. They stop at an ice cream stand, and as she gets out he uses this opportunity to escape. She then goes to a movie, falls asleep, and her purse is robbed of all its money AND her comb for good measure. All of this is necessary to show how Wanda is accustomed to being treated when she meets HIM - Norman Dennis.
That night at closing time she wanders into a bar to use the restroom. Anybody else would notice this guy is not your typical friendly bartender .He just keeps barking "Are you taking a bath in there? Hurry up!" Behind the counter we see the real bartender gagged and bound. We now know what Wanda does not - Mr. Dennis is a robber and Wanda was the customer he was not counting on. She has a couple of drinks and then they leave together.
From this point forward Mr. Dennis never explains himself at all. He spends his time barking commands and insults to her, telling her to not ask questions, saying she can come along with him if she wants, telling her how to dress when she is around him and throwing her old clothes out the window as they drive down the highway. She doesn't question his actions - his treatment of her as a combination beast of burden, verbal punching bag, and prostitute that does not get paid. He sees her low self esteem and exploits it. This guy is just such a seemingly heartless stone cold character, UNTIL he goes to see his dad. Here he actually shows some humanity. Dennis tries to give his dad a few bucks, but even dad, through the fog of dementia, gives the money back and talks about him being a bad guy and rejects him.
Wanda continues to call Norman, "Mr. Dennis", as though he were her fourth grade teacher, for the rest of the film. He never calls Wanda by any name - she is an "it" to him and he likes it that way. The only time he shows any gentleness is when he needs her to commit a really big crime, and then that gentleness only consists of calling her by her first name and telling her she CAN do this thing he is asking of her. I'll let you watch the details of the big heist they attempt - I'll just say that Dennis winds up dead, Wanda is so anonymous that nobody comes looking for her as a possible accomplice, and the last scene is her in a bar with a bunch of strangers, seemingly mourning this guy who treated her worse than anybody would ever treat a dog, and yet she is sorry he is gone - because he is the only person in her life that maybe didn't want her around but allowed her to be around.
"Wanda" is definitely a film written from a woman's perspective. Barbara Loden wrote, directed, and starred in this film that was panned when first released, ironically by feminists! I love the photography and symbolism. Why does Wanda wear her hair down when asleep, but puts it in curlers on an important day in her life - when she has to appear in court AND go looking for employment? So many of the shots of Wanda are long shots - we don't see her expression because there is no expression to see - Wanda is a person living life in an emotional void. And imagine how hard it must have been to direct someone (Michael Higgens as Norman Dennis) to act so rock hard for the entire length of the film. And the little touch of the never explained wedding ring on his finger just adds to this guy's air of mystery.
Interestingly enough, Barbara Loden had a posthumous "Wanda" experience herself. Elia Kazan, her widowed husband, claimed after Loden's death that HE actually wrote this film and just gave it to her so she'd have something of her own! Highly recommended but very quirky!
When we first meet Wanda she is sleeping on her sister's couch. Her sister's baby is crying inconsolably, her brother-in-law gives Wanda a derisive look and says he won't have any coffee as he leaves for work. Wanda tells her sister that he is angry for her being there, and she's probably right. Wanda looks out the window and all she can see for miles is a Pennsyvania coal slag - no trees, no grass, no flowers. So this dismal existence is that of the SUCCESSFUL sister! Next we see Wanda walking across the coal country, her hair in curlers. She is headed to court and she is late. In the meantime, her husband is bad mouthing her to the judge, saying that she is always drunk, not watching the kids. When Wanda finally enters the courtroom, her children don't even acknowledge her as mom. Wanda, a woman beaten down by life in her 20s, says her husband can have whatever he wants, that the kids will be better off with him.
Afterwards, she goes to somebody she worked two days for as a seamstress in an assembly line environment and says she has not gotten all of her pay. In spite of the fact that the guy is lying to her and cheating her, she says she still wants a job there. The employer tells her she is too slow, not even good enough to do the dullest and most mechanical of jobs. She goes to a bar, and the next scene is in a seedy motel room, with Wanda asleep and a man she met in the bar, obviously regretting that Wanda didn't automatically disintegrate past the point of consummation, is readying to run out on her, except she awakens, dresses quickly, and jumps into his car just as he peels off. They stop at an ice cream stand, and as she gets out he uses this opportunity to escape. She then goes to a movie, falls asleep, and her purse is robbed of all its money AND her comb for good measure. All of this is necessary to show how Wanda is accustomed to being treated when she meets HIM - Norman Dennis.
That night at closing time she wanders into a bar to use the restroom. Anybody else would notice this guy is not your typical friendly bartender .He just keeps barking "Are you taking a bath in there? Hurry up!" Behind the counter we see the real bartender gagged and bound. We now know what Wanda does not - Mr. Dennis is a robber and Wanda was the customer he was not counting on. She has a couple of drinks and then they leave together.
From this point forward Mr. Dennis never explains himself at all. He spends his time barking commands and insults to her, telling her to not ask questions, saying she can come along with him if she wants, telling her how to dress when she is around him and throwing her old clothes out the window as they drive down the highway. She doesn't question his actions - his treatment of her as a combination beast of burden, verbal punching bag, and prostitute that does not get paid. He sees her low self esteem and exploits it. This guy is just such a seemingly heartless stone cold character, UNTIL he goes to see his dad. Here he actually shows some humanity. Dennis tries to give his dad a few bucks, but even dad, through the fog of dementia, gives the money back and talks about him being a bad guy and rejects him.
Wanda continues to call Norman, "Mr. Dennis", as though he were her fourth grade teacher, for the rest of the film. He never calls Wanda by any name - she is an "it" to him and he likes it that way. The only time he shows any gentleness is when he needs her to commit a really big crime, and then that gentleness only consists of calling her by her first name and telling her she CAN do this thing he is asking of her. I'll let you watch the details of the big heist they attempt - I'll just say that Dennis winds up dead, Wanda is so anonymous that nobody comes looking for her as a possible accomplice, and the last scene is her in a bar with a bunch of strangers, seemingly mourning this guy who treated her worse than anybody would ever treat a dog, and yet she is sorry he is gone - because he is the only person in her life that maybe didn't want her around but allowed her to be around.
"Wanda" is definitely a film written from a woman's perspective. Barbara Loden wrote, directed, and starred in this film that was panned when first released, ironically by feminists! I love the photography and symbolism. Why does Wanda wear her hair down when asleep, but puts it in curlers on an important day in her life - when she has to appear in court AND go looking for employment? So many of the shots of Wanda are long shots - we don't see her expression because there is no expression to see - Wanda is a person living life in an emotional void. And imagine how hard it must have been to direct someone (Michael Higgens as Norman Dennis) to act so rock hard for the entire length of the film. And the little touch of the never explained wedding ring on his finger just adds to this guy's air of mystery.
Interestingly enough, Barbara Loden had a posthumous "Wanda" experience herself. Elia Kazan, her widowed husband, claimed after Loden's death that HE actually wrote this film and just gave it to her so she'd have something of her own! Highly recommended but very quirky!