Extremities

Attacked by a masked would-be rapist (Russo), Fawcett manages to escape but leaves her ID behind. The police ('Ever been picked up for prostitution before?') are less than sympathetic, and her two flatmates are kind enough to take her car with them when they leave her alone to face, as she and we know, her assailant's inevitable return. What follows is an hour of violent and voyeuristically relished confrontation as Fawcett, initially stripped, humiliated and terrorised, manages to turn the tables to blind and cage her 'animal' aggressor. This offensive adaptation of William Mastrosimone's controversial play suggests that there was never much question of making any serious attempt to deal with the important subjects raised. The use of subjective camera and meaningless circling shots cannot disguise either the essential abuse of cinematic technique or the crippling lack of psychological insight and detail. Under the restrictive hand of Young's direction, Russo's moronic 'Method' maniac and Fawcett's grimy avenger are equated as mere beasts in this one-room zoo.