THE MEDUSA TOUCH (1978) ** It's not an entirely unoriginal plot, trying to give a bit of scientific respectability to the "possession" genre of the '70s. They don't appall you with too much slime and bad effects, either; instead they trust the plot to build a certain psychological tension, which it does. Add Richard Burton as the central character and the possibilities are terrifying and limitless. Instead the film is only somewhat frightening, and its limitations readily apparent. Burton probably liked the script at first, then got bored with it along the way. He simply throws away many of his scenes, it's easy to imagine him informing the director "I'm doing this one in two takes, use the better one." Of course Richard Burton on something less than full steam can still be a wonder to behold. His courtroom jeremiad is probably as succinct and incisive an analysis of existing political conditions as you're likely to find anywhere. The passion and power that he generates just by walking around the courtroom in an entirely predatory manner, feeding on judges no less, is unparallelled. The look that he's given by his client is significant, one of the few aspects of the film worthy of further consideration after the lights go on. Lee Remick would have been the actress in most demand during the '90s-her performance is less than flawless, but what flaws exist are more than compensated by her firm professional presence: she is credibly pert in the manner that represents about as much sexuality is you're going to get in an office, more self-stifled than repressed, analytical in a manner that reflects training rather than overt rationality, and all but entirely inattentive to whatever concerns have nothing to do with her career. She wouldn't have made all those office flicks good, but she would have made them better. Lino Ventura offers the most consistent performance as the detective, but without pointing to much beyond his own performance. The film ultimately generates a good deal of suspense despite its utter predictability, but it's difficult to pinpoint just who might be terribly impressed with it.
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