Extremities

This was, at first, designed as a user review for my imdb account, but the writing just kept coming and wouldn't stop.

 

A rapist in a ski mask (James Russo, in a performance that will make your skin crawl) is waiting on Marjorie (Farah Fawcett) as she leaves her job from a museum inside the back seat of her car. He surprises her, a knife to the throat, and demands Marjorie drive to a secluded parking garage with plans to rape and murder her. She frees herself, but the local authorities can do nothing. Losing her wallet to this rat bastard, Marjorie fears he will strike again real soon, particularly since she was “the one who got away”. Sure enough, “Joe” arrives…with demands. 

For her to dress in a negligee, to invite him in her bedroom, to cook him some food, to talk nice to him, allow him to touch and suckle a breast: it is all about his need to control and humiliate her. Earlier, we see him going through her wallet as his child tells him mommy says that dinner is ready. This little detail lets us know that while the creep that is Joe masquerades as a family man, he’s really a vicious, sick, psychopathic monster in need of a lesson in manners and behavior. Fawcett, after enduring about twenty minutes of horrible mistreatment (credit to the actress for suffering emotional and physical hardships that demand a lot from her) from a rotten scuzzball, eventually gains the upper hand thanks to some insecticide. Becoming incapacitated, thanks to poisoned eyes and through digestion from the insecticide, Joe never counted on such a fight, especially when Marjorie smashes a lamp over his head and ties a cord around his arms and neck. She will determine if he lives or dies, with her two roommates (Alfre Woodard and Diana Scarwid) arriving home to offer their two cents.

So, the film comments on the injustices of the law when it comes “her word against his”, female empowerment (tell me, there wasn’t applause when Fawcett struck back and persevered her ruthless attacker…) after punishment and ridicule from a brute who sneaks around to terrorize women for kicks, and “taking law into one’s own hands” (what does someone do when it appears that the law will not be able to stop a human beast threatening to kill her when released?). Joe tries to manipulate the other women against Marjorie so he can be freed from a temporary “prison” (a fireplace with a grating holding him at bay) and get away (or kill them if given a chance). Joe knows details because he is a stalker, spying into lives for his own pleasure and amusement. When Fawcett starts to dig a grave, Scarwid and Woodard try to convince her to call the police. When they start to belittle each other, fall prey to shouting matches, Fawcett wants a confession, plain and simple. But Joe is all about manipulation, so he tries to win “social worker” Woodard to his cause (he’s dying of the ingested poison and needs medicine). Scarwid spends most of her time freaked out and panicky. Marjorie is always one step away from crushing Joe’s skull with a hammer. When Joe nearly suffocated her with a pillow, that desire to use a hammer on his ass seems justified. 

There’s a GREAT scene where Marjorie finds the knife hidden on Joe’s person, forcing him to “say it”, mocking a similar situation she was put through by him. Powerhouse performance from Fawcett is a huge asset to the film and Russo is so loathsome that his comeuppance is ultimately a moment of sheer nirvana. Using “Tony” as a weapon to place a wedge between Fawcett and Scarwid is one of many tactics Joe attempts to use in his favor (as does he try to appeal to Woodard’s charitable, sympathetic personality by exploiting the poison ingestion ). Wallowing on the floor, finally admitting his guilt, even offering up three murdered victims in a confession, Marjorie justified, Joe is properly put in his place.

There was a final “bow”, so to speak, for Farah as she turns on the lamp, slides into a seated position, letting out a satisfied sigh of relief, perched up against the fireplace as a fetus-positioned Russo lies weeping and in pain. I thought about Farah in this moment. Sure, she’s a sex symbol. God, like a lot of people, I’m just always admiring that iconic poster in the 70s of her. But, she’s a hell of an actress. Sorry, she was. I’ve seen some of her television movies. I haven’t seen The Burning Bed (1984) in ages, but this was her  “I’ve arrived” moment which told the country (world) she’s the real deal. To me, Extremities (1986) is an accompaniment with The Burning Bed, and proved further she’s got some chops and a willingness to suffer for those characters. How grueling Marjorie must have been, and to suffer in that part on stage and film for this character is worthy of applause to me. 

There was a technique the director used where he places a lot of emphasis on first person shots were his actors look right at the camera. It is rather unnerving to have to look right into Russo's face as he torments Fawcett. That and the shots of Fawcett's torment, too, is rather hard to hold on her face and not look away. Wiping away her teary face, attempting to keep her composure, and all the while Russo is antagonistically demonstrating his will over her...that is until she tips the scales in her favor.

I had mentioned that Farah remained on my mind after finishing Extremities, and, in particular, I felt a sense of sadness  inside looking back at the day she died, how her death was enveloped by the media fascination with the train wreck that was Michael Jackson. Karen Black had lost her battle with cancer today and Farah’s losing fight with it left me thinking about how film can durably retain that greatness that existed within them, produced from them, and attaches itself to others who watch them at their finest moments. For me, Farah has several in Extremities.  1996 was the first time I ever come across the film on HBO when I had my first apartment. This was the first time I watched it since then. 17 years…yowzers! That performance hasn’t lost its savor. I won’t watch this film again maybe for another 17 years because Russo’s such a slime, and seeing Farah going through all of his cruelties wasn’t easy. Her work, however, made it worthwhile.