On V List of Movie Reviews

(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)

---

Victim (1961)

Rate: 3
Viewed: 2/25

2/25: Victim is boring, boring, boring!

I can see why it was a box-office stinker in 1961, and it has nothing to do with the topic of homosexuality. Ironically, after Victim was shown at the Venice Film Festival, an Italian critic remarked, "At last the British have stopped being hypocrites." You know what? That's absolutely true.

The first issue is the large number of characters. There must have been twenty or so; I couldn't keep up with them all or get their names or motivations straight. To make matters worse, everybody looks positively bland and indistinguishable. The second issue is the script. It's full of convoluted talk while boring the piss out of me! Yes, I get it...homosexuals are being blackmailed left and right. Who cares? And do something about it already!

Honestly, I'm not a fan of Dirk Bogarde and don't see what makes him special. Just too much stiff-upper-lip acting; give it a rest for once! The rest of the cast is filled with nobodies. As for the topic of blackmailing homosexuals, it's so tame that I find the whole thing hard to believe, especially in England, a country that's known for having a lot of gay men which goes back to royalty and theater for hundreds of years. Anybody who finds this shocking must have lived under a rock for far too long.

All in all, you won't ever see any homosexual acts in Victim but hear a great deal of dull dialogue.

---