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Directed by
Joe Massot
Writing credits: Gérard Brach (story)
Screenplay: G. Cabrera Infante
Plot Summary: The eccentric professor Collins lives completely secluded in his chaotic apartment, when the model Penny
moves in next to him.
Cast:
Jack MacGowran.... Prof. Oscar Collins
Jane Birkin .... Penny
Irene Handl .... Mrs. Peurofoy
Richard Wattis .... Perkins
Iain Quarrier .... Young Man
Beatrix Lehmann .... Mother
Brian Walsh .... Photographer
Sean Lynch) .... Riley
Bee Duffell .... Mrs. Charmer
Noel Trevarthen .... Policeman
Running Time: 85 min
This 60s 'head' movie flopped when it opened in cinemas and would have vanished into obscurity had it not been for the instrumental
soundtrack by George Harrison (0n the short-lived "Zapple" experimental offshoot label of Apple Corps) which kept
it known for several years (a re-edited version, including a restored opening track by Harrison, was released in cinemas three
decades later).
In keeping with the Beatles connections, Dutch design group The Fool (Simone & Miraqua), who also painted the wondrous
wall on the Apple Boutique building, was hired to create artwork and fashions for the film. 'Wonderwall' also has writer Gerard
Brach (a longtime favourite of Roman Polanski) and actress/singer Jane Birkin on board to help it earn cult status.
Jack MacGowran stars as a mousy professor (coincidentally, he had played a professor in Polanski's/Brach's "The
Fearless Vampire Killers" the previous year) who analyses water samples and lives in a cramped apartment which looks
like it is made up mostly of walls. The monotony of his daily routine changes when he discovers a small hole through which
he can peer into the apartment (a great set!) of neighbour Birkin. The images he sees intrigue him and soon all his time
is spent watching the room next door.
'Wonderwall' is less concerned with a story than it is about an event and observes it with as much detachment as MacGowran
studies the bacteria under his microscope. The characters are as two-dimensional as the wall that separates them, their
only purpose being to play out the film-makers' ideas. But if this is so, then what is the idea being conveyed in the film,
if any? Is it that old 60s saw that we all build barriers around ourselves that need to be broken to attain total freedom?
Does it suggest that drugs can enlighten one's consciousness? (one character, who appears in a fantasy sequence as 'LSD'
is quite happy to discover that MacGowran has sugar cubes he can borrow). I don't think filmgoers need to dig for a message
to endorse 'Wonderwall' - it's enough that the film was pretty much overlooked in the era it was made and the cultural capital
invested in it years later reclaimed it iconographically. In other words, the main reason to see Wonderwall 'now' is because
it is a film that could only have been made 'then'.
That's the extent of my affection for Wonderwall but I would have preferred to see the film go further than it does.
Why not let MacGowran demolish the wall with a vengeance so he can launch himself into the alternate universe he sees behind
it? In spite of its trippy feel, the basis of the storyline is surprisingly conservative. MacGowran's visions look like
photo shoots, which don't seem out of place when you remember that Birkin's character is a fashion model. In fact, the whole
thing is more than likely hallucination on his behalf.
Even something like a small hole in a wall becomes an avenue of escape from his dingy apartment - through it he hears
music, inhales dope and entertains all manner of fantasies. The early "Psycho" reference (stuffed birds, the appearance
of 'Mother", and a guilty MacGowran crouched at the peephole spying on a girl) serves little point unless it's meant
to tip us off that MacGowran is unhinged from the outset. Interestingly, because what MacGowran sees is fanciful we don't
think of him as a voyeur. And besides, we don't really see him getting any gratification - at the end of the film he's just
where he was at the beginning, making the whole exercise seem rather pointless. I think, however, that like any scientist
(quantum physicists excluded) MacGowran's character knows that to achieve true results he is permitted only to observe, and
nothing more.
At the point in the story when he finally stops viewing and starts interfering, the consequences are significant. In
short, he has broken a precept that has been fundamental to his work routine - in fact, his life - and that is enough to create
some form of liberation, even if it is one that can't be seen outwardly. It might not be our idea of a happy ending, but
it's good enough for him.
Hopefully in time, this bizarre but fascinating artefact might benefit from digital enhancement through a DVD appearance.
It's certainly worth some reassessment.
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