THE TURNING POINT

US, 1977, 119 minutes, Colour.
Shirley MacLaine?, Anne Bancroft, Tom Skerritt, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Martha Scott, Marshall Thompson, Anthony Zerbe.
Directed by Herbert Ross.

The Turning Point is a high standard "woman's picture" with many short ballet sequences (featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Leslie Browne, both superb dancers and quite good at acting) to delight. But the story is of middle age, regrets about lost opportunities, old rivalries and jealousies, careers ending, families growing up and who better to dramatise these themes than Shirley MacLaine? and Anne Bancroft at their best. The former portrays tellingly a homely ex-ballerina facing the crisis of her daughter's ballet career, the latter the intensity yet sensitivity of the ballerina whose goal has been performance and success. Their clash sequence makes fine dramatic impact. The appeal is to an older audience whom it should please.

1. How enjoyable a film? Its wide acclaim at the time of its release, Oscar nominations? Merited? The appeal of the film; soap opera, ballet, romance? A blend of each?

2. How important was the ballet background of the film? Its beauty, dance? The excerpts? The world of ballet and of ballet dancing, creativity and production? A suitable basis for the plot?

3. The significance of the title and its reference to the two women? Giving a focus to the film?

4. The impact of the opening with Deedee and her family? The focus on the family, the personalities? The American city, the radio announcement, ballet? The family tensions and love? The leading into the credits with the focus on the ballet itself? The readying of the mood for the audience?

5. How well-staged was the encounter sequence? The presentation of the various personalities in the company? Deedee and her reaction? Wayne and the children? The reunion, the passing of the years, Deedee's joy? Adelaide and her sardonic remarks and worries about costs? Michael and old friendships and ballets? The various personnel of the company itself?

6. The build-up to the encounter between Deedee and Emma? The first presentation of Emma on the stage and her realisation of Deedee's presence? The joy of their reunion, their talk about the performance, nervousness because of Deedee's presence? The immediate focusing on Emma and her relationship with Deedee, with Emilia, with the rest of the family? Emilia as godchild? The varying personalities of the three children? The focus on the question of age, ageing, careers, choices, rivalries, jealousy, motherhood and lack of motherhood? The potential of the love?hate relationship and the need for some kind of anger and voicing of resentment and some sort of fighting?

7. Deedee and her happiness at this stage of her life? Her love for Emilia? The questions of Emilia's career in regard to the dancing lesson, the scholarship and the decision about going to New York? Her bonds with Wayne and the quality of their marriage? (How important was the re?meeting of Rosie in New York, his personality compared with Wayne's, his seduction and her allowing herself to be seduced? How credible at this stage of her marriage, loneliness?), the quality of love within the family? Deedee's coping with moving to New York? Contrast of background between her work and the school, Wayne's work and family life? The inevitability of a clash with Emma and Emilia as focus?

8. The contrast with Emma and her personality? Her skill as a dancer? Successful performances, her style? Her gradual elimination from the various ballets? Consciousness of her age? Her sensitivity? The accusation that she had a killer?instinct to get to the top? Was this true? Her love for Deedee, her love for Emilia? Her own personal relationships and the significance of the encounter with the lover and his breaking off the situation; and the reasons he gave for it? Her having to cope with this?

9. The importance of the build-up of tensions between the two throughout the film? How was Emilia the focus? The jealousies, Deedeels puzzle and resentment about the dress, the gala performance and Emma's ostentatious treatment of Emilia? Her reaction to Emilia's dancing when drunk and Emma's coping? The importance of the encounter at the party, in the bar, the talk about toads and frogs? The impact of the fight sequence, the staging of it and the way truths were told? The humour of their violence and their laughing? What did this mean about their bonds and their love? Deedee being satisfied as regards the meaning of her choice, the worry of twenty years? A bond for future friendship?

10. How well did the Emilia-Yuri? subplot fit in with the main part? Emilia in the small town, the ballet skills, personality? Her skill at the school, the opportunities in New York? The importance of her romanticising Yuri and watching him during the dance? Their love, sexuality? The ballet style in which the bedroom sequences were filmed? The clash with Yuri and her being hurt? Blaming her mother and the resentment about the night with Rosie? Her handling the situation when her father rang? Idolising Emma and her father? Her not coping, drinking and the incident in the cafe? The mock humour of her inability to dance when drunk, Emma fixing her in the shower? The move towards further success? Her skill as a dancer and her achievement in Arnold's special ballet? The flowers, her dress? Her realisation of the place of Enwa, of her mother and presenting her with the flowers? What would be her future? An Emma or a Deedee?

11. The contribution of the other children; the practical sister that stayed at home, the boy wanting to be a ballet dancer? Wayne as the leading man, solid support for Deedee, the bringing up of the family? His ordinary world and treatment of his children? His love for Deedee and the importance of their discussion about why she married him and what she was trying to prove? The future of their marriage?

13. The presentation of the ballet world, Michael and his creativity, the background of his homosexuality? Rosie and his part of this world, his personality and using of people? The humour of Adelaide and her continual preoccupation with money? The necessity for some humour throughout the film? Arnold in his creating of the ballet and his clashes with various people? Their treatment of Emma?? Emma as fitting into this world, stepping down from the stage, training?

14. Yuri and his type? His presence in the dancing, his skills, the training, relationship with the girls, with Emilia? How well did the film blend the unreal and stylised beauty of the ballet with the realism of life?

16. Themes of art and reality? Lives and careers and success? Age and careers and meaning of life? Parenthood and marriage versus individual career?