(1973)
1
Craig Butler
Ash Wednesday is a bore on so many levels it's hard to know where to start. Perhaps with the premise, which is the very epitome of "skin deep." Ash wants the viewer to be interested in a woman who believes that the toll that the passage of time has taken on her looks is the reason her marriage is falling apart. It's clear from the first few minutes that this is not the real reason, yet one must sit through another hour and a half to have the point driven home. And since one is sharing that time with shallow characters who spout shallow phrases and worry about shallow things, it really becomes a chore to make it through to the end. Add to this some truly repulsive footage involving the physical makeover and few viewers will care to stick with Ash all the way through. Matters are helped not at all by Larry Peerce's labored, obvious and unimaginative direction, which drags things out intolerably. In the leading role, Elizabeth Taylor looks smashing (post makeover), but her performance is dull and uninspired. Henry Fonda and Helmut Berger fare little better. There's some yummy scenery and some nice Edith Head fashions, but nothing else to recommend.
cast-crew for Ash Wednesday on AllMovie
Ash Wednesday (1973)
