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The Image (1975)

Posted By: denisbul

Date: 23 Jun 2011 08:25:19

Jean discovers that Anne cannot get enough of being humiliated by her mistress, Claire. Gentleman that he is, he decides to partake in the activities. Ultimately, Claire surrenders to him as well.

Perhaps the darkest and most explicit of Radley Metzger's films (aside from the ones he directed under the pseudonym Henry Paris), The Image explores the sadomasochistic relationship between a man, an older woman and her younger mistress.

The film opens up in Paris, where Jean (Carl Parker, Score) accidentally meets his old friend Claire (Marilyn Roberts, Looking for Mr. Goodbar) at a fashionable party. She introduces him to the stunningly beautiful and elegant Anne (Rebecca Brooke, Confessions of a Young American Housewife, Abigail Lesley Is Back in Town). By the end of the night, he realizes that the two women are lovers. Sort of - they actually have a master/slave relationship.

The Image (1975)

The three meet again at Parc de Bagatelle where Claire humiliates Anne in front of Jean (I am afraid I cannot describe in detail exactly how). Then she calmly explains to him that Anne enjoys the treatment. Naturally, or not, Jean immediately becomes obsessed with Anne.

A week later, Jean sees Anne at a book market in the heart of Paris. She sees him too, but completely ignores him. Without Claire around, Anne is a totally different person - confident and collected, even slightly arrogant. When Jean attempts to talk to her, she walks away.

The Image (1975)

Enormously upset by the rejection, Jean decides to focus on his writings and forget about Anne. A few days later, however, he meets Claire again. When he mentions to her his experience with Anne, she offers to lend her slave to him. Jean accepts and shortly after visits Claire's posh home, where Anne is waiting to be punished.

Based on Catherine Robbe-Grillet's (credited in the film as "Jean de Berg") novel, Metzger's The Image belongs to a rather big group of films that attempted to blend art and explicit erotica during the early 1960-70s. Almost all of them were made in Europe, and the best ones featured promising young models such as Christina Lindberg, Lilli Carati, Maruschka Detmers, Brigitte Maier, and Catherine Ringer, among others.

The Image (1975)

The film is divided into ten episodes, each culminating with an important revelation about the nature of Claire and Anne's S&M relationship. The early ones are rather bland, but as the film progresses, they become quite intense.

Unlike Metzger's previous films, The Image comes fairly close to being a straight pornographic affair (a year before The Image was completed, Metzger had already shot one, The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann, under the pseudonym Henry Paris). It features a number of long and unsimulated sex scenes that are obviously not appropriate for minors.

The Image (1975)

The acting is surprisingly good. Brooke, in particular, is not only strikingly beautiful and bold but also an incredibly gifted actress who literally transforms the entire film. Without her, the film would have certainly looked incredibly dull and classless, perhaps even enormously depressing.

The Image (1975)

There production values are very strong, featuring excellent costumes and detailed set designs that are rarely seen in other similarly themed films. Also, the film is complimented by a lovely retro psychedelic score (the main theme by Brian Bennett is particularly good).

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov (blu-ray.com)