Legendary director Mike Nichols certainly started with a "bang." Thank God he didn't end up like so many others - with one "firecracker" followed by a long, sad series of fizzles. But to understand what an achievement WAOVW is, one must keep in mind the context. Firstly, you have arguably the two most famous (infamous?) people on Earth, who were demanding and receiving unheard of (for the time) remuneration and treatment for their efforts - and living the lifestyle said remuneration provided (they lunched with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor during production) - as the stars. Elizabeth didn't have to be on set until 10 a.m., and her aging makeup took 2.5 hours. By the time that was finished, it was lunchtime, so filming didn't begin until 1 or 2 p.m. most days. I heard Mike NIchols say in an interview once, "What are you going to do? Your stars are so big, they're dining with royalty. That's not the sort of person you can pull aside and chastise for being late like Lindsay Lohan or someone." Also, Burton's lifestyle was catching up with him, and his health was not the greatest (he couldn't work every day), not to mention the quasi-Victorian "code" movies of the time were expected to follow, and you have a recipe for what could have been a disaster.
This film is often called a "landmark" for its frank depiction of theretofore taboo subjects like serious alcoholism, spousal abuse, mental illness, abortion, adultery, infertility, overt sexuality, etc. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, this was the first film to carry an age limit "rating," and was also provided the genesis of what would become the MPAA and its rating system. How this got past the studio's "guardians of decency" in 1966, I'll never know.
Luckily, Elizabeth really wanted this to work, and held their end together long enough for them to deliver what was their finest hour together. The first time I saw this, I was shocked by Liz's performance (among other things). She is on record as having said, "I never had an acting lesson in my life; everything I've done, I've just created on the spot." I don't know what was in that "spot," but it certainly served her well here.
I won't go into the story arc, as I'm sure everyone here knows it by now, but let's just say that the 32 year-old (!) Liz shed ALL vanity to play 50 year-old floozy Martha (when Nichols first told her what weight she needed to be, she said, "Thank God . . . I don't have to diet"). And it worked. Right from the start. My favorite line comes early in the film, as she's describing the Bette Davis picture she's quoting from . . . "What a dumPPPP!" and in the middle of her description, she pauses perfectly, puts her hand on her hip, looks at mousy Burton, and says, "She's discontent." Pretty much "set the scene" for what follows right there.
There has been some criticism that George Segal was not the best choice for Nick, but apparently all the "big" actors turned down the role because of its nature: 2.5 hours of humiliation and torture at the hands of George - which the ambitious Nick feels he has no choice but to sit there and take. By today's standards, it might be a bit extreme, but as I said, you have to keep context in mind (and apparently, there are still people who play these types of "parlor games," BION).
Bottom line: if you've not seen this, do so immediately. Once you've recovered from the first viewing, watch it again, and you'll be amazed at the subtle but stinging wit throughout. Honey to George: "They dance like they've danced before." George: "It's a common dance, monkey nipples . . . they're both very familiar with it." Honey: "I don't know what you mean." George looks at her with disbelief, opens his mouth to say something, and then you can see his brain thinking, "Oh, what's the use?" so he closes his mouth and turns his head. All in all, there are enough layers and meat here for many viewings and discussions.
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