Movie Review: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Sadly, there are very few films that are capable of eliciting a visceral reaction out of me. However, Mike Nichol's 1966 debut film, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, is such a powerful film on so many levels that I cannot imagine anybody watching it without being significantly moved. The film is based on Edward Albee's Tony Award winning play and covers the events of one very long and alcohol induced night. It follows the plight of an aging couple George (Richard Burton) and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor). When friends Nick (George Segal) and Honey (Sandy Dennis) come over for a nightcap, they become caught in the middle of a series of games in which George and Martha take their pain and attempt to push each other to the breaking point. Albee's dialogue is explosive, both in terms of being emotionally charged and how it is projected, and is adeptly handled by the entire cast.. There is a brilliant mix of temperamental humor and anguish which includes one of my favorite lines, "There isn't an abomination award going that you haven't won."
While Albee's superb script provides a well-built chassis for the film, it is Nichol's direction mixed with Haskell Wexler's brilliant cinematography that makes this film really take off. Often times the camera will capture the scene as if it were merely a fly on the wall. However, Nichols really knows the material and will zoom in to the point of intrusion when a character feels emotionally isolated or verbally backed into a corner. In one particularly distinguished scene that deviates from the play, Nichols captures George walking into the back of the house when the Martha and the guests are still conversing in the living room. Even though George is out of ear shot of the others, Nichols keeps the audio of their conversation going while he follows George. This illuminates the extent of Martha's deviance as George can still knows that Martha will be speaking ill of him even when he is not in her company. Also, in the same vein as a noir, Nichols uses mirrors to show how these characters never take a good hard look at themselves and what they have become. One is even shoved in the face of George at one point, yet he is too steeped in his own misery to even see the man on the other side.
The performances here are simply astounding by all players involved. Although Taylor would nab the Oscar for best actress, I really feel as though Burton was snubbed. While his character could have just been watered down to nothing more than a dispensary of caustic wit, Burton injects a sense of humanity into the character that is present in the smallest of gestures.
Historically, this film is bold as it was produced in some of the most impassioned years of the civil rights movement. These years saw a mass movement to finally put an end to the anti-miscegenation laws that had previously prevented interracial marriages in America. This film shows that even white upper-middleclass marriages, which were seen as a bulwark against the decay of the human race, had their blemishes.
In the end, it is a beautiful film about a volatile relationship. It is about pain and the fiction that we manufacture in order to deal with it. The film isn't easy to watch, but if you do you will find that this is an absolutely astounding film.