There comes a time in relationships, where couples momentarily part company and seek solitude for rest, rejuvenation and recreation. And it is what transpires during this hiatus that tests the resilience of their union and makes for the most interesting and dramatic viewing.
In The Seven Year Itch (1955), co-writer/director Billy Wilder immerses us in the world of Richard Sherman (Tom Ewell), a native of Manhattan who, like many other husbands of his Manhattan milieu, sends his wife and child away for the summer. Temporarily severed from the constraints of marital life – the incessant nagging, questioning and lecturing of his assertive but doting wife – Sherman initially refuses but soon acquiesces to the temptations of his newfound solitude: smoking, drinking and extra-marital attraction.
His susceptibility towards the latter is further exacerbated by his profession. As a senior employee of publishing firm Brady and Company, Sherman’s situation is uncannily echoed in the latest tome that falls into his hands: a psychoanalytical treatise exploring the infidelity urge in middle-aged males, particularly those who have been married for seven years – a tendency colloquially known as The Seven Year Itch.
When Sherman crosses paths with a newly arrived female neighbour – known only as The Girl (and played to ditsy perfection by Marilyn Monroe), his libidinal itch becomes increasingly irresistible to scratch. Many films tackle the temptations of infidelity, but few do so by balancing slapstick humour, wry social commentary and sharp, intelligent wit. The Seven Year Itch has etched itself in film history for its iconic dress-raising scene where Marilyn Monroe’s white William Travilla number is sent billowing above her waist by a breeze gushing through a subway grate. But the film also lingers in the memory for its hilarious and pioneering portrayal of post-war male anxieties.
Sherman’s jittery, narcissistic and nervous soliloquies betray the fragility of masculinity – particularly obsessions about ageing, body image, sexual attraction and paranoid projections (concerning the repercussions of cheating and, conversely, the fear of being cheated on). Perhaps the film’s most salient and under-rated contribution to cinema is its quirky articulation of psychoanalytic concepts, including the unconscious origins of perception, behaviour and action.
– Dr. Varga Hosseini
Nice internet site you have here.|
Good web site you have got here. It’s difficult to find excellent writing
like yours these days. I honestly appreciate people like you!
Take care!!
Wow! Finally I got a weblog from where I know how to actually take
useful data concerning my study and knowledge.
Thanks for the great time on this website. Carry on please that way.
Great delivery. Outstanding arguments. Keep
up the great effort.
Great info. Lucky me I recently found your website by chance (stumbleupon).
I’ve book-marked it for later!
Thanks for any other wonderful article.
Where else may anyone get that type of info in such an ideal manner of writing?
I’ve a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such info.
What a information of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious familiarity on the topic
of unexpected emotions.
You ought to take part in a contest for one of the
finest websites online. I most certainly will recommend this website!
I have been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or weblog posts in this kind of house .
Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this site.Studying this information So i am happy to show that I’ve a very just right uncanny feeling I discovered just what I needed. I so much unquestionably will make sure to remember this site.
We are a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community.
Your site provided us with valuable information to
work on. You’ve done an impressive job and our entire community will be thankful to
you.
Thanks very interesting blog!
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this
matter to be actually something which I think I would never understand.
It seems too complex and extremely broad for me.
I am looking forward for your next post, I’ll
try to get the hang of it!
Hello it’s me, I am also visiting this site on a regular basis, this web page is genuinely pleasant and the viewers are truly sharing fastidious thoughts.
My blog post
This is a topic that’s close to my heart… Cheers!
Where are your contact details though?
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all people you actually recognise what you’re speaking about!
Bookmarked.
Hello, I enjoy reading all of your post. I wanted to write a little comment to support you.