RACHEL, RACHEL

From a time when the American cinema turned out strong, intelligent, grown-up pictures and the Academy recognized them, (it was nominated for Best Picture). The film is "Rachel, Rachel" and it marked Paul Newman's directorial debut. The Academy overlooked him but the New York Film Critics named him Best Director and Joanne Woodward, who plays Rachel, was their Best Actress. She is, like Rosalind Russell before her, 'an old-maid school teacher' who experiences a summer of love when she reaches what she describes as the exact middle of her life before it's all downhill to the grave and Woodward is simply magnificent in the part, (it's a career-best performance). She's also supported by some superb players, not all of them familiar, (Kate Harrington, Terry Kiser, Frank Corsaro). The object of her affections is James Olson; handsome, sexually demanding and a bit of a sleaze and Estelle Parsons, fresh from her Oscar success in "Bonnie and Clyde", is her lesbian colleague. It's a beautifully written film, (Stewart Stern adapting Margaret Laurence's novel 'A Jest of God'), and superbly directed; funny, thoughtful and now generally underrated. It shouldn't be missed.