’Tis Pity She's a Whore (1971)

I’m moving off-topic a bit here, but actually the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that Giuseppe Patroni Griffi’s ’Tis Pity She's a Whore (Addio, fratello crudele) is very much on-topic even if it is an adaptation of a 17th century play.

It is after all based on a Jacobean tragedy by John Ford (OK if you want to be pedantic it was probably written a year or so after the death of James I in 1625 so technically it’s not Jacobean but in style and content it’s pure Jacobean tragedy). The Jacobean revenge tragedies were among the most significant ancestors of gothic fiction, and gothic fiction is where horror started, so you could in fact argue that it’s a horror movie. And it certainly has more blood and gore than most horror movies!

Giovanni has been away from home for many years studying at the university in Bologna. He’s been away so long that when he returns home he and his sister Annabella don’t even recognise one another. Their re-union proves to be exceptionally warm and tender. Perhaps a little too warm and tender, since they soon realise they are desperately in love. Giovanni’s friend is a monk, and he advises Giovanni to adopt prayer and self-mortification. It is to no avail, and before long brother and sister are lovers.

When Annabella finds herself pregnant she is offered mercy by the Church. Rather than being executed for her heinous sin she must give up Giovanni, and she must marry a man chosen for her by her family, to save her child from the disgrace of illegitimacy. She marries Soranzo, who happens to be an old friend of her brother’s. There’s a nice twist here, since Soranzo turns out to be an attentive and affectionate husband, and he’s very much in love with her. And he’s very handsome. Annabella finds herself reconciled to the marriage. Everything is going swimmingly until Soranzo finds out about her little secret. To say he does not take it well would be an understatement of epic proportions. He vows to take a bloody revenge on every single person involved in bringing shame to his family name. The stage is set for the classic Jacobean revenge tragedy bloodbath ending.

Some elements in this story are going to be difficult for a modern audience to relate to. Soranzo takes his obsession with family honour, and with vengeance as a sacred duty, to an extreme in what seems like the most colossal over-reaction imaginable. The incest theme still resonates though, this being a taboo that remains as strong as ever, and the tragic nature of the love between Giovanni and Annabella retain its impact. They are truly made for one another, their love is strong and devoted, they would have made the perfect couple, but of course no-one is going to allow them to live in peace as lovers.

Charlotte Rampling is extremely good as Annabella, but she’s overshadowed a little by Oliver Tobias’s powerful performance as Giovanni. He doesn’t go over-the-top until the very end, but when he does go he really goes. Fabio Testi as Soranzo is almost as impressive. In fact all the actors are exceptional.

Having originated as a play the movie does run the danger of having a stagey feel. And it certainly does have a very artificial feel, which is probably necessary. A naturalistic approach would have made the events and the responses of the characters seem too implausible, but by embracing artificiality this conflict is avoided. Despite its artificial quality it doesn’t actually feel stage-bound - director Giuseppe Patroni Griffi has gone to great lengths to keep the movie visually interesting and dynamic. He’s aided by some superb settings and some imaginative production design. There are lots of strange wooden structures, wooden statues that look rather Cubist but somehow don’t seem out of place, and odd slightly ominous wooden structures that enclose the characters at vital stages of the action.

One intriguing feature is the way Giovanni is at times filmed to resemble the hero in a spaghetti western, and this is strengthened by the fact that the score is by Ennio Morricone who created so many memorable soundtracks for spaghetti westerns. I suspect this was deliberately done, since revenge is such a dominant theme in the western and especially in the Italian variety. It provides a way for a modern audience to feel a stronger connection with the themes of the story.

The ending is spectacularly bloody, but given the source material that’s really unavoidable. It does provide the movie with some very obvious links to exploitation movies, and there’s some sex and nudity as well, but again it’s very much in keeping with Jacobean drama which was the 17th century equivalent of the slasher film! It’s fast-paced and never in any danger of becoming boring and horror fans will find much to enjoy. It’s a heady mix of art and gore, and it’s worth seeking out if you’re in the mood for something a little different.