After seeing and enjoying the 2004 version of The Stepford Wives, starring Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick, I began to wonder what the original was like. Having seen it I did enjoy it, though it is a very different type of film to its modern counterpart. This 1975 film is much more of a suspense movie (I wouldn’t call it “horror” per se), and the amazing thing is that despite the whole world already knowing the secret behind the eponymous Stepford Wives, it still scores highly in the suspense department!

Joanna Eberhart (Katharine Ross), an aspiring photographer as well as with and mother of two small children, moves into the town of Stepford with her husband, Walter (Peter Masterson). All seems to be going quite well until Walter announces that he’s been invited to join the “Men’s Association” - which then seems to entirely preoccupy him. Walter is shown as a man in conflict - he keeps telling Joanna that he loves her but definitely seems to be hiding something - something that disturbs him but that he’s not, apparently, opposing. Joanna on the other hand is frustrated at her lack of achievement in the photography field, but more frustrated that her husband (who again she does seem to genuinely care for) tends to make decisions without her input. Every time they “discuss” something, it seems that the decision has already been made.

The people of Stepford though seem happy, and the wives seem nearly perfect - just a little too preoccupied with housework and pleasing their husbands for Joanna’s liking. Joanna suspects that something is being done to the women, and finds a couple of friends who seem to be like-minded; mainly Bobbie Markowe (Paula Prentiss), who can’t have had anything done to her as she always has a very untidy kitchen. The erratic behaviour of one of the wives - Carol Van Sant (Nanette Newman) adds to their suspicions. But what can they do, especially when the whole place Is completely under the control of the Men’s Association and its creepy leader, Dale Coba (Patrick O’Neil).

Well, for the 1% of the earth’s population who might not know the real secret of Stepford, I won’t tell you. But as mentioned earlier, the fact that it manages to grip you in suspense is truly amazing considering you know perfectly well what’s going on (even if you’ve never seen this, the remake, or any of the several variations on the theme). The combination of a good cast, good acting, an eerie music score and superb use of lighting make this an engrossing, mesmerising experience. Peter Masterson (father to one of my all-time favourite actresses, Mary Stuart Masterson) and Katherine Ross were really excellent, lending both a hardness and vulnerability to each character. You might think that Walter’s character was completely unsympathetic; this wasn’t really the case, though he was undoubtedly flawed. But then so was Joanna really. Paula Prentice kind of annoyed me as Bobbie kind of annoyed me - I just felt she was a little too over the top and, frankly, I found it quite easy to like her character more when she had been “altered”. After all, what is so bad about a clean kitchen? Then again you wondered if the men would eventually get tired of how mundane their wives had become. Nothing is quite as simple as it appears in The Stepford Wives.

While most of the film was compelling viewing, unfortunately, I just found a couple of scenes near the close of the film (one where Joanna is seeing a Psychiatrist, the other where she finally confronts the evil Dale) to be too unbelievable. In the first of those I found the Psychiatrist’s reaction very odd; in the second Joanna acts completely out of character by just giving up. The end scene itself was well done, but the ending sequences were a bit weak - to me, at least.

Overall I didn’t quite feel it was a 5-star movie because of the uninspiring last twenty minutes or so, but it’s very definitely worth watching. The UK rating is 15 (according to Amazon’s listing the USA rating is only PG, which I find quite surprising considering the US Film Board are normally quite a bit stricter than the UK Board). To be honest though today it would almost definitely only be rating 12A (US equivalent PG-13) or even just a PG. IMDB’s listing does suggest that there are different versions; 115 minutes, a UK version in 2001 lasting 110 minutes; and finally a 2004 UK version, lasting just 100 minutes (this was the version I saw). The one on Amazon.com seems to be the 115 minute version. It did have a couple of scenes of violence and near the end there is a woman wearing a negligee that leaves extremely little to the imagination; this was a short scene and sexuality was certainly not the main aim of that scene. I don’t think it’s really the sort of movie that would appeal to younger ones anyway though because of the general darkness in tone, the adult issues tackled (male chauvinism is the most obvious, but because of the complexity of Walter’s and Joanna’s characters, there were certainly others), and the somewhat slow pacing. That last comment isn’t meant as a criticism, by the way - it’s slow because it’s thoughtful, not because it’s boring.

It’s not really possible to compare the 1975 and 2004 versions of the film - the latter version was much more light-hearted, aiming for comedy rather than tension, and had a completely different ending - including a twist to the ending that worked quite well. I liked both movies, but because this was less of a comedy, it’s not the sort of film I’m likely to watch again and again. Another good thing about The Stepford Wives 1975 version is that even the re-mastered versions are very cheap, so you can get an iconic movie for just a few pounds (or dollars!).


The Stepford Wives [2004] Review


UPDATE (part of the Update 2008 Project)

In fact I hadn't realised but this was Mary Stuart Masterson's film debut (she was too young for me to recognise!) Among her superb performances later on in her career, her role in Benny and Joon opposite Johnny Depp stands out to me.

I did happen to see this film again fairly soon after my first viewing (not entirely my choice, I admit). The thing that really struck me on that second watching was just how slow paced the movie is - I mean really, it barely plods, relying completely on the mood it creates to keep you interested. It's an interesting contrast to most movies today in terms of style.




Recommended: Yes