The Turning Point
THE TURNING POINT (PG)
D: Herbert Ross
20th Century Fox/Hera (Herbert Ross & Arthur
Laurents)
US 1977
119 mins
Drama
W: Arthur Laurents
DP: Robert Surtees
Ed: William Reynolds
Mus: John Lanchberry
PD: Albert Brenner
Cos: Albert Wolsky
Anne Bancroft (Emma Jacklin), Shirley
MacLaine (Deedee Rodgers), Mikhail Baryshnikov (Kopelkine), Leslie Browne (Emilia Rodgers), Tom Skerritt (Wayne Rodgers), Martha Scott (Adelaide),
Marshall Thompson (Carter)
The Turning Point is a soap opera set around the world of
ballet. The American Ballet Theatre tours Oklahoma City, where it's ageing star revisits a former rival, now a housewife, whose daughter is now in the biz.
It's a tough ask for ballet to appeal to a cinema audience
as they're two completely different mediums of dramatic expression, but director Herbert Ross does a decent job here, making it worth watching for the performances alone, not just with its
two bickering leads Anne Bancroft and Shirley MacLaine, but also for the acting talents of the ballet stars in the picture, particularly Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne.
It won't be for everyone.
7/10
