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X,Y, and Zee

X, Y and Zee (1972) also known as Zee and Co, is a British motion picture released by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by action director Brian G. Hutton, and was based upon a novel by Edna O'Brien.

The film starred Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Caine as a middle-aged, bickering couple whose marriage is on its last legs, and Susannah York as the woman who comes between them. Margaret Leighton was also featured in a supporting role as a dizzy socialite.

Movie Synopsis

Zee Blakely (Elizabeth Taylor) is a loud, coarse, forty-something socialite, whose marriage to her husband Robert (Michael Caine) is on the rocks, as witnessed by their frequent verbal sparring matches. Sick of Zee's antics, Robert is drawn to quiet boutique owner Stella (Susannah York) who is the complete antithesis to Zee in terms of personality.

Feeling bored and rejected, Zee attempts a number of methods to regain Robert's sympathy, such as committing suicide, but these do not work. Zee discovers that Stella had a lesbian affair in the past, and uses this against both her, and Robert, to dare him to partake in a love triangle with Stella.

Critical Reception

Critical opinions of the film were varied. Roger Ebert said that while the movie is "no masterpiece" it still satisfies audiences as it "unzips along at a nice, vulgar clip" (Ebert, 1972). Elizabeth Taylor is the main attraction here, but the emphasis upon her detracts somewhat from a fuller representation of the love triangle in the film (Ebert, 1972). Steven Scheuer praised the film for its "intelligent dialogue" and as a "change of pace" for its director (Scheuer, 1990: 1211). Michael McWilliams cited Taylor's work as "her greatest movie performance" and called the film "outrageously funny" (McWilliams, 1987: 32).

Other critics were less sympathetic. Leonard Maltin said the film was "contrived [and] often perverse," with the Elizabeth Taylor/Susannah York love scene ranking "high in the annals of poor taste," (Maltin, 1990: 1386). Clive Hirschhorn felt that the film was sabotaged by the director's "indulgent" take on it, thereby skewing Edna O'Brien's screenplay to its detriment (Hirshhorn, 1989: 298). Mick Martin and Marsha Porter offered a very brief review of the film being that it was a "pointless tale of sexual relationships," (Martin and Porter, 1996: 1213).

References

• Ebert, Roger (1972) X, Y and Zee Chicago Sun-Times, March 8, 1972. (accessed 15 January 2008). [1]

• Hirschhorn, Clive (1989) The Columbia Story, Pyramid Books, London.

• Maltin, Leonard (1991) Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1992, Signet, New York.

• Martin, Mick and Porter, Marsha (1996) Video Movie Guide 1997, Ballantine Books, New York.

• McWilliams, Michael (1987) TV Sirens: A Tantalizing Look at Prime Time's Fabulous Females, Perigee Books, New York.

• Scheuer, Steven H. (1990) Movies on TV and Videocassette, Bamtam Books, New York.

External links

• X,Y, and Zee at the Internet Movie Database