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5.4/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.4/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Mater dolorosa remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a taste for old-school, slightly suffocating melodrama, you’ll probably find something to chew on here. But if you’re looking for a quick pick-me-up, steer clear. This is one of those movies that wants to drag you through the mud of its characters' bad decisions.
The whole thing feels like a house where the windows have been painted shut. You’ve got this husband, and once he finds out about the affair, he just decides to poison his own life and everyone else's. It’s genuinely uncomfortable to watch how he turns his back on his kid.
There’s a scene where the silence is so thick you could cut it with a kitchen knife. The actors are really leaning into those big, dramatic gestures that were so common back then. Sometimes it works, and you feel the ache. Other times, it feels like they’re trying just a little too hard to be tragic.
I couldn't help but think about how much more grounded the tension feels in something like The Reed Case, where the stakes feel a bit more tactile. Here, everything is just… so very large. The grief is loud. The betrayal is loud. Even the wallpaper feels like it’s screaming at you.
Honestly, the movie gets a lot more interesting when it stops trying to be a fancy portrait of high society misery and just lets the characters be pathetic. When they’re all just miserable people stuck in a room, it hits differently.
Is it perfect? No. It drags in spots where you wish someone would just say what they mean. But there’s a raw, jagged edge to the performances that makes it stick in your brain for a few days. Just don't expect to leave the experience feeling better than when you started.
It’s not quite as chaotic or fun as The Wild Party, but if you’re in the mood for a proper, old-fashioned emotional beatdown, this will do the trick. 🎭