Jule Dassin was a great film director, but his last film "Circle of Two" was a major disappointment. The film is about a fifteen-year old Sarah Norton's (Tatum O'Neill) infatuation with a sixty year old painter Ashleigh St. Clair (Richard Burton). There is nothing wrong with the premise, since an intelligent movie could conceivably be made about a teenager falling in love with a worldly and sophisticated man who is approaching his senior years. But "Circle of Two" is not that film. Ashleigh St. Clair is not worldly or sophisticated and comes across as a colossal dullard here, with the result that we have no idea why Sarah Norton would fall for him. As a result, this film could not be compared to "An Education," which covers similar terrain, since the latter film has an older man who is sophisticated and charming enough to sweep the initially naive Jenny Mellor off of her feet. Meanwhile, Tatum O'Neill tries harder than Richard Burton to deliver a credible performance, but sadly an awful script gives her character nothing interesting to say or do.
Yet the greatest weakness of "Circle of Two" is its lack of daring. The movie dangles the idea of Ashleigh St. Clair having a scandalous love affair with Sarah Norton in order to titillate the audience, but then fails to follow through with it. What would a love affair between a sixty-year old and a fifteen year old be like? What are the physical and psychological consequences of such an affair for Sarah Norton in particular? I am not suggesting that the movie show simulated sex scenes, but perhaps the sex could be suggested and then the consequences of these sexual encounters explored in dialogue and in the unfolding of Sarah and Ashleigh's lives. Yet "Circle of Two" does not have the daring to gamble with such a risky plot. Instead, it brings the two lovers close to having sex only to stage a quick retreat and reassure the audience of the film's wholesome intentions. As a result, we are left asking ourselves whether "Circle of Two" is really an exploitation film (exploiting Tatum's nudity, for instance) dressed up as a wholesome picture.
The absence of a worldly and sophisticated older man and a cowardly script are two excellent reasons not to see "Circle of Two." But what compounds this film's failures is that all the supporting performances are terrible. Clearly B- or even C-actors were hired for the supporting cast, possibly because of budgetary challenges during filming. The result is that these performances are amateurish to an embarrassing degree. Toward the end of the film, there were a couple scenes which I enjoyed. Richard Burton sounds great screaming at the crooked art dealer, if for no other reason than the crooked art dealer is portrayed by such a bad actor who needed Richard to teach him how to act. Another scene I liked has Tatum O'Neill looking heart broken as the escalator takes her farther and farther away from Ashleigh. If the film could have had acting like that throughout, then maybe it would have amounted to something. Yet in its current form, I cannot recommend "Circle of Two."
Yet the greatest weakness of "Circle of Two" is its lack of daring. The movie dangles the idea of Ashleigh St. Clair having a scandalous love affair with Sarah Norton in order to titillate the audience, but then fails to follow through with it. What would a love affair between a sixty-year old and a fifteen year old be like? What are the physical and psychological consequences of such an affair for Sarah Norton in particular? I am not suggesting that the movie show simulated sex scenes, but perhaps the sex could be suggested and then the consequences of these sexual encounters explored in dialogue and in the unfolding of Sarah and Ashleigh's lives. Yet "Circle of Two" does not have the daring to gamble with such a risky plot. Instead, it brings the two lovers close to having sex only to stage a quick retreat and reassure the audience of the film's wholesome intentions. As a result, we are left asking ourselves whether "Circle of Two" is really an exploitation film (exploiting Tatum's nudity, for instance) dressed up as a wholesome picture.
The absence of a worldly and sophisticated older man and a cowardly script are two excellent reasons not to see "Circle of Two." But what compounds this film's failures is that all the supporting performances are terrible. Clearly B- or even C-actors were hired for the supporting cast, possibly because of budgetary challenges during filming. The result is that these performances are amateurish to an embarrassing degree. Toward the end of the film, there were a couple scenes which I enjoyed. Richard Burton sounds great screaming at the crooked art dealer, if for no other reason than the crooked art dealer is portrayed by such a bad actor who needed Richard to teach him how to act. Another scene I liked has Tatum O'Neill looking heart broken as the escalator takes her farther and farther away from Ashleigh. If the film could have had acting like that throughout, then maybe it would have amounted to something. Yet in its current form, I cannot recommend "Circle of Two."