This unusual and compelling drama was scripted, produced and directed by Robert Rossen (1908-1966), from a novel by J. R. Salamanca. Rossen was a superb director who had made his name with the famous ALL THE KING'S MEN (1949) and THE HUSTLER (1961) with Paul Newman. Unfortunately, this was the last film which Rossen ever made, as he died aged only 58 two years later. Eight actors directed by him won Oscars for their performances, and in this film he got one of the best performances ever out of Warren Beatty. The film is particularly notable for being the first feature film in which Gene Hackman and Jessica Walter appeared. Both of them give stunning performances as a married couple who are minor characters in the story. Walter's performance was so strong that it probably explains why Sidney Lumet cast her in THE GROUP (1966) two years later, the film that made her reputation. The female star in this film is Jean Seberg, who brilliantly plays the character Lilith who compulsively needs to make everyone fall in love with her, but is mentally disturbed. The film is set at a mental asylum for very rich patients. The main thrust of the film, however, is Warren Beatty's story. He is an ex-solider returned from 'the War' (in this case presumably the Korean War) who lives in a sombre fashion with his grandmother, is single and at a loose end. We slowly come to realize that the real reason why he feels compelled to go to the insane asylum and ask for a job, where he is accepted and trains as an occupational therapist, is because his own mother had been interned there years before, and had died there. He is haunted by this memory and keeps her signed photo by his bed and looks at her all the time. His mother when young resembled Jean Seberg, so he develops an obsessive need to try to help Seberg recover, as a proxy for his mother whom he was unable to help. Beatty's performance is really outstanding and so sensitive and nuanced that it was really worthy of an Oscar. The film is brilliantly directed, lit, scripted, acted, and produced. It is a model example of how to make an excellent film based on difficult material, in an unlikely location, and concerning a subject most people would rather avoid and prefer not to know about. Rossen was very bold in carrying off this risky venture with such complete success, and it was a perfect swan song for his fine career. As for Beatty, it is one of the performances he can be most proud of. And it launched Gene Hackman, though the character he plays here is so unlike the Gene Hackman we are used to, that it will shock and surprise everyone who sees this. In fact, it proves just what a talented and versatile actor Hackman was from the very beginning, before he started to become type-cast as a lead player in roles where he is meant to play the familiar Gene Hackman that everybody pays to see.
Review of Lilith
