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Circle of Two (1980)

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From Time Out Film Guide

Sarah (O'Neal) is fifteen going on sixteen, and lives at home. Dad's an Egyptologist; Mom refuses to acknowledge any generation gap; boy-friend wants to get her into the sack, but she refuses. Dodging him one day she meets Ashley (Burton), a once-chic artist who's currently light on inspiration. He might be sixty but he's hunky in that experienced way, and he has a Bohemian haven in the country where he plays Vivaldi. The pair get literary and have intense chats in which Sarah learns the difference between the Sistine Chapel and Burger Kings. Sarah tries the physical, but Ashley sagely demurs. Mom and Dad are horrified by the liaison (bye-bye wet liberalism) and imprison her until she sees sense. But Sarah's having none of that... Preposterous serial syrup which should shame everyone involved.

Author: IB

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

Roger said...

Posted on Jun 25 2011 03:28 Quite the obscure film this Circle of Two but just because it’s obscure doesn’t deem it unworthy of a serious look. Quite contrary. Richard Burton is Ashley Sinclair, a 60-year-old once famous artist who for 10 years has been idle with no creative spark. A couple of chance encounters with 16 year-old aspiring writer, Sarah Norton who is played by a young and impressive Tatum O’Neal who put her child-acting image in the past at this pivotal time in her career. Their first meeting happens at a porn theater, which she goes to on a dare by some school friends then later at a café where she publicly dumps her boyfriend. Future meetings take place and soon these two form an emotional bond. Note: Emotional bond. The late, great film director, Jules Dassin expertly handled the sensitive subject matter to avoid the obvious pitfalls. So, if you’re thinking Lolita or some soft-core smut fest, this film is neither and proud of it. Even the waist-up nudity of Tatum O’Neal lasts only for a few seconds and is really nothing but what is worthy of comment is Richard Burton’s character and how he handles the moment. It makes you realize when you watch it, the guy has virtues which speak loud and clear. For Ashley, Sarah inspires him and reconnects him to life and a feeling of worth. For Sarah, she experiences love for the first time in her life with this older and refined gentleman. The time they share together opens a whole new world for them both. Inevitably, their secretive relationship is discovered due to an incident brought on by Sarah’s jealous ex-boyfriend, Paul (Michael Wincott) while he spies on her being at Ashley’s home one afternoon. Ashley’s and Sarah’s relationship is headed to the end as her parents interfere with strict grounding and a house visit with a psychiatrist (the late Kate Reid) that sympathizes with Sarah and sees her for what she really is, a maturing young woman very much in love. There’s a touching final scene where Sarah has finally tracked down Ashley and confronts him about why he left town on her birthday and gave no information on his whereabouts. The gentle girl with the broken heart forces him to explain himself. Not a great film but a darn good one in its own right providing of course you can view it with an open mind and think above and beyond conventional relationships. You’ll be thinking about it days afterwards.

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mr.mike said...

Posted on Feb 26 2008 02:40 Far from great , but Burton lends it a level of dignity and the ending is sensible.

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