"A BOLD AND UNCOMPROMISING DRAMA WITH A TOUR-DE-FORCE PERFORMANCE BY JULIE ANDREWS"

Posted by DEWEY on Jan 13th 2024

Hollywood dramas about "persons with disability" often fall into a false "inspirational" trap. That is, they are made so a mainstream, "non-disabled" audience can feel good and inspired by the protagonist with "disability" because he/she conquers every adversity with courage; as in the Academy Award winning, crowd-pleasing, and cringe-inducing "My Left Foot".
"Duet For One", a British drama from 1986, takes a decidedly different approach-- bluntly stating that every adversity can not be conquered. "Duet For One" kicks the expected "inspirational" trope in its ass, and replaces it with a much more understandable rage, desperation, and despair.
Tom Kempinski's original play is a two-character piece between Stephanie Anderson, a world-famous violinist stricken with multiple sclerosis, and her psychiatrist. The drama is derived from the real-life story of celebrated classical artist Jacqueline Du Pre and her husband, composer-conductor David Barenboim. Du Pre was forced into early retirement at age 28 due to multiple sclerosis, and died at age 42 in 1987, a year after this film's extremely limited release in art-house cinemas.
The film opens the play up considerably, and is sparked by a fierce performance from Julie Andrews, who completely shatters her stereotyped image from "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound Of Music".
When her psychiatrist (Max Von Sydow) tells her she still has choices in life, Stephanie replies, "You're right. There's crippled, very crippled, totally crippled, and dead. I just haven't made up my mind yet." When her philandering husband (Alan Bates) abandons her, she begins an affair with a very married, working class man named Harry (Liam Neeson). She tells her lover Harry, "You like me because I'm a cripple. Come on, admit it. It turns you on. What's your specialty--paraplegics?"
The film takes a bold, honest, and uncompromising stance on living with a disability. It may be too dire and depressing to appeal to a "mainstream audience", but it should be seen for the strength and power of Julie Andrews' tour-de-force performance.