There is something about a long title that when intentional and not for superfluous purposes can seriously affect how one views a film. Paul Newman’s third film in the director’s chair, once more casting his wife (Joanne Woodward) and daughter (Nell Newman, credited here as Nell Potts), was an adaptation (‘production’ as the poster titles it) of Paul Zindel’s Pullitzer prize winning play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds in 1972. But for as much as the title initially places us into a headspace of grand themes of science and the effect of nuclear material on a family unit, in actuality the basis of Newman’s film is the effect of a mother on her children. That mother is the formidable Beatrice Hunsdorfer (based in part upon Zindel’s own mother), a fiercely bitter woman whose dry and often deeply offensive humour, aswell as her frequent verbal abuse to her daughters, is deconstructed in the film. Woodward as Beatrice is one the most unsung yet most deserving performances of the decade and the film itself is the crowning jewel of Newman’s side-career as a director.

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The original Broadway production of Zindel’s play of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds opened off-Broadway in 1970, this was a during of period of friendship and creative discussion between Zindel, Newman and Woodward as they tackled a project entitled Mrs Beneker. During this time Newman was moving more into directing, with previous critical hits including Rachel, Rachel (also starring Woodward and Potts). The married couple saw the production of the play and immediately planned to make that there next project. Zindel declined adapting the script, to work on Mrs Beneker, passing off duties to Alvin Sargent. The film ended up being critically revered, with Newman’s direction being noted as mainly focussing on the actors and the scenes rather than any grand visual stylings. Comments which I agree are fair and that is certainly the film’s strongest suit, but the film also chiefly does not feel like a filming of a play. Sargent’s choices of locations for scenes does help that, but we have seen many times before where plays are adapted to plays and simply change locations, expecting that to be the only thing needed to move it from one medium to another to a supreme lesser success than this. Newman understands the power of the close-up in this film, one of the major tools of film that theatre simply doesn’t have. Woodward also had great success with the role winning Best Actress the Cannes film festival for her performance. Woodward is sensational in the film, exemplifying her true talent to transform into wholly different people from film to film. Film critic Roger Ebert noted this, commenting that it was “like nothing she’s ever done before”. This is certainly the best work I’ve ever seen her do also. Unfortunately where this union of three great talents should have reunited for Mrs Beneker, it was split due to Zindel’s negative view of the film, citing unfortunate nepotism in the casting of Nell Potts in the role of Matilda, Woodward being out of her depth and the film lacking the humour of the play.

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The two taglines of the film bring us into the world brilliantly and quite succinctly (unlike the film’s aloof and cryptic on first glance title). Mother of the year, if you had a mother like this, who would you be today? That is our first, brilliantly bringing us directly into the The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds overriding concept being Beatrice’s effect on her children. However the other tagline brings us into what for me is the true heart of the piece; what effect has the world had on Beatrice to make her this beastly vision. Life’s been a real bitch to Beatrice Hunsdorfer, and vice versa. For as much as Beatrice has been looked down upon in the world in many ways, she has given her all back in what she says are humorous fighting backs. What makes The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds so deeply unsettling and affecting as a piece is the nature in which we view Beatrice through her children’s eyes in the first half of the film, before more and more glimpses of the outside world’s view of her complicates our view of her as an audience and instils something very disturbing in the way her children now view her. For more or less the first half of the film we view Beatrice as a very stubborn, if sparingly overly cruel mother, through her relationships with her daughters. However it is through Matilda and Ruth’s time at school that the children end up gaining power over their mother. Ruth in particular overhears conversations behind her back between teachers of hers, who in turn also went to school with Beatrice regarding her then reputation as “Beatrice the loon”. In her painful and rampant teenage angst she taunts her mother with this. This is in the sequence where we see both Roberta Wallach and Woodward’s best acting. Beatrice simply retreats and her stillness speaks volumes in juxtaposition to her frequently frantic energy throughout the film, Woodward’s eyes rival her husband and director’s beautiful blues when it comes to storytelling of the face in this scene. Wallach too, seemingly in complete control of the epilepsy induced mania that plagues her frequently from night to night, abuses her knowledge and taunts her mother through the door. For all that we have seen and heard Beatrice do, we can’t help feel great empathy for her in this situation.

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Nell Potts is just sensational in this film and plays so well doing so little, whereas her mother’s performance is frequently more showy, Potts achieves a similar complexity in her character with few words and far fewer actions. Her subtlety and nuance in delivering the anxiety of Matilda however leads to the finest conflict of the film. It is clear that Ruth may very easily fall into the same state that her mother did, but in Matilda there is an undeniable power and strength that we can see just behind the eyes. Where Zindel only saw nepotism, I can only see a most inspired and purposeful casting choice. In the final scene of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Beatrice takes from Matilda her most prized possession in the cruelest and most viscous way one can imagine, but Matilda does not scream, is not overwhelmed with emotions that she can’t control – as her mother would have done. Instead Matilda simply stares down her mother and walks away. In that single final moment we come to understand the intense power of the film and the ultimate tragedy of what will occur with these characters after the credits are done rolling and they continue their lives. One could make the argument that Beatrice’s climatic speech about change may be meant, but no matter how much it is meant, she is a deeply mentally ill woman who will break eventually. And if she doesn’t break, she will simply slowly deteriorate over time. For as much as The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a film about an abusive mother’s tight reign on her children. It is more so about the effect that the success of those children has on their deeply un-successful and deeply resenting mother. Woodward and Newman commented after filming the picture that Woodward made an active effort to not bring any element of this character home with her, as she hated her so much. To put it frankly, I don’t blame her. Beatrice is a piece of work and although the film explores why she is that way, she is at the end of the day still just that.

-         - Thomas Carruthers