jotix100
This film brought to mind our own encounter with the elusive Ms. Garbo one afternoon as we held the door open for her at the 59th St. entrance of Bloomingdale's. Ms. Garbo could be seen around her East Side neighborhood, where people didn't even stare at her out of respect of her privacy! Manhattan in the 50s, 60s and even 70s had a lot of antique dealers on 3rd. Ave. and Ms. Garbo was a constant figure browsing those stores. Greta Garbo, the once silver screen goddess, lived a modest life in Manhattan. Her trade mark was the shade of lipstick she always wore and the camel hair coat one saw on her, until in later years when she adopted a brown duffle coat whenever she went out.Sidney Lumet's film pays homage to that fleeting figure. The mysterious woman is at the center of a film that perhaps is not so much about the mythical figure, as much as the allure of what she stood for.The story of the terminally ill Estelle Rolfe is a sweet account in how her loving son Gilbert tries to bring the illusion of the movies to his dying mother. The movie shows to what lengths Gilbert goes to grant Estelle a moment with the person she most admired, the actress Greta Garbo. Estelle was a fan, but more than that, she was a no nonsense lady who championed righteousness above all.Anne Bancroft was born to play Estelle. Ms. Bancroft knew this woman and her portrayal benefits from the way she plays her. As the son, Ron Silver is good. He will go to whatever extreme to please his mother. Carrie Fisher is Lisa, the California girl married to Gilbert who doesn't want to stay in New York. Veteran actors like Howard Da Silva, Stephen Hill, Herminone Gingold, Dorothy Loudon, Harvey Fierstein are seen in the film in supporting parts."Garbo Talks" is not one of Sidney Lumet's best movies, but still, one gets the feeling what it is to live in New York with this tale about the celluloid meeting reality in Manhattan.
debra (debra-13)
Anne Bancroft has one of my favorite "renowned actress who really wants a great part" stories regarding this movie. She wanted the role, but Sidney Lumet wasn't going to give it to her. He'd just seen one of her husband's (Mel Brooks) lesser known, but still good movies, "To Be or Not To Be," and told her he was looking for someone older, less glamorous, less beautiful.And she said, "Look, in that movie, I was carefully photographed, I was lovingly lit, and I was sleeping with the producer!"So she got the part. And did such a good job.
budmassey
This is not a film about Greta Garbo, and La Garbo isn't in the movie, not really. Moreover, from a writer's perspective, Greta Garbo could have been any quest that we seek with sincerity and purity of intention. But in this case it is Garbo, and her mystique permeates this film through her haunting absence, which lends Garbo Talks its beautiful sense of longing.Anne Bancroft gives a tour de force performance as the dying mother who never stops championing her causes, and wishes only one thing; to meet Garbo before she dies. Ron Silver is her put upon son who sacrifices everything, including his marriage to a hilariously unsympathetic Carrie Fisher to give his mother her dying wish.Hermione Gingold is utterly side splitting as one of the improbable steps in young Gilbert's search for the elusive Garbo. Harvey Fierstein is brilliant in his understated portrayal of a gay man Gilbert meets on the ferry to Fire Island, where he hopes to find Garbo at her retreat.Garbo is played by the incomparable Betty Comden, seven time Tony Award winning composer who co-wrote such classics as Singin' in the Rain, Auntie Mame, Bells are Ringing, and the Barkley's of Broadway.There is a scene, late in the movie, where Bancroft is delivering a soliloquy, which stands as one of my favorite moments in film. Sally Field should have given her Oscar that year to Bancroft. It is only then, in her emotional epiphany, that Ms. Bancroft reveals the delicate yet powerful theme of the film. It was never about Garbo. She was merely a symbol of the quest to find a unifying thread that gives meaning to a life remembered. The buildup may be tauntingly slow, but the payoff is astounding.Why do I love this movie? It's about a feeling, a mood, a tone, owing in large part to Sidney Lumet's light yet masterful touch. The lyrical pace and the glorious ending are movie art, floating as gentle as a cloud above the din of its heavy handed contemporaries.
Boyo-2
..then this movie is for you. SPOILER ALERT-Anne Bancroft plays a politically correct mother who loves doing the right thing, sticking up for the small fry, her son Gilbert, and Greta Garbo. Her relationship with her meek son is believable and sometimes touching. When she is diagnosed with a disease that will cut her life short, she declares she wants to meet the elusive icon, and Gilbert is in charge of making her dream a reality. However, Gilbert is not the aggressive type; he is terrorized by his boss, his secretary and his wife (Carrie Fisher is hysterical as his princess bride). So, against his nature, he goes on a search for the actress most unlikely to give a damn about him or his dying mother.
Suffice to say the end is bittersweet, and all the actors give it their best. Bancroft is allowed to let loose and has a ball; she is especially good at confronting a group of hardhats who had been verbally harassing a young woman on the street. She is also very good in the scene following her meeting Garbo. Ron Silver is terrific as Gilbert, a put-upon guy if there ever was one. He does find happiness, with a co-worker (Catherine Hicks) and even gets to impress her, when the normally silent Garbo talks to Gilbert long enough to say 'hello' in a chance meeting in Central Park, Hicks is naturally curious and thrilled (by now he's left the selfish Carrie Fisher).The movie is very good, not great. Its extremely hard to believe Hicks would be able to afford her apartment on the salary she must make working in an office job. And as much as the mother/son relationship was touching, I can't help but wonder why such a dynamically strong womans' sensibilities did not rub off on her son, why he's such a dolt. She gave him love but maybe he needed more than that.
AD
