There could be no stranger choice of director for this thriller than William Wyler. The man who once filled our screens with thousands of extras in Ben Hur here fills our screen with
.well, erm, two people stuck in a lonely mansion. For this particular film-maker such a quiet, intimate, low-key type of film is extremely uncharacteristic. The story is taken from an excellent John Fowles novel, and deals with obsession and kidnap. Considering its 1965 release date, the film is quietly disturbing, with highly convincing acting. But it suffers a little too because its two-hour duration cannot really support such a thin storyline, and some of the fascinating details that added depth and verisimilitude to the original novel have been omitted from the screen treatment.
Bank clerk Freddie Clegg (Terence Stamp) leads a lonely, dreary life. Desperately shy and overwhelmed by a sense of his own unimportance, Freddie's only outlet is his hobby of butterfly collecting. His butterflies not only give him something to do during his spare time, but they also provide him with the feeling of control and superiority that is lacking from all other aspects of his life. After winning a fortune on the football pools, Freddie decides it is time for him to get himself a girlfriend. But his approach is unorthodox to say the least. He builds a dungeon in his house, then abducts pretty art student Miranda Grey (Samantha Eggar) and puts her into it. He feeds her, observes her, "keeps" her almost like some butterfly might be kept in a jar. Freddie feels that given time she will come to appreciate his bizarre love and fascination towards her, and will return this love. In his distorted mind, this is how he believes he will eventually make her want to be with him forever .
The plot of The Collector has obvious parallels with later films like The Silence Of The Lambs and Kiss The Girls. But Freddie is a more down-to-earth psycho. In fact, he's not really a psycho at all, more of a misguided loner who doesn't understand how people especially lovers -interact in real society. As portrayed by Stamp, the character is chilling but simultaneously pitiful and sympathetic. Miranda is also an interesting character, played with intelligence and spirit as well as beauty by the excellent Eggar. The Collector is rather overlong, with too many occasions when the screen dwells lazily on faces or details that add little to the story. Also, the film's music by the usually reliable Maurice Jarre fails to add any emotion or tension to the emotionally tense proceedings. But at the same time, credit must be given for the way the story remains subdued and plausible throughout, rather than careering off into outrageous, over-the-top action and gore (as so many films in this genre tend to do). And credit must and already has be given for the solid work of the actors, who carry the entire film. The Collector is a decent thriller for those with slow-burning tastes.
Bank clerk Freddie Clegg (Terence Stamp) leads a lonely, dreary life. Desperately shy and overwhelmed by a sense of his own unimportance, Freddie's only outlet is his hobby of butterfly collecting. His butterflies not only give him something to do during his spare time, but they also provide him with the feeling of control and superiority that is lacking from all other aspects of his life. After winning a fortune on the football pools, Freddie decides it is time for him to get himself a girlfriend. But his approach is unorthodox to say the least. He builds a dungeon in his house, then abducts pretty art student Miranda Grey (Samantha Eggar) and puts her into it. He feeds her, observes her, "keeps" her almost like some butterfly might be kept in a jar. Freddie feels that given time she will come to appreciate his bizarre love and fascination towards her, and will return this love. In his distorted mind, this is how he believes he will eventually make her want to be with him forever .
The plot of The Collector has obvious parallels with later films like The Silence Of The Lambs and Kiss The Girls. But Freddie is a more down-to-earth psycho. In fact, he's not really a psycho at all, more of a misguided loner who doesn't understand how people especially lovers -interact in real society. As portrayed by Stamp, the character is chilling but simultaneously pitiful and sympathetic. Miranda is also an interesting character, played with intelligence and spirit as well as beauty by the excellent Eggar. The Collector is rather overlong, with too many occasions when the screen dwells lazily on faces or details that add little to the story. Also, the film's music by the usually reliable Maurice Jarre fails to add any emotion or tension to the emotionally tense proceedings. But at the same time, credit must be given for the way the story remains subdued and plausible throughout, rather than careering off into outrageous, over-the-top action and gore (as so many films in this genre tend to do). And credit must and already has be given for the solid work of the actors, who carry the entire film. The Collector is a decent thriller for those with slow-burning tastes.