SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON

The first exposure I remember having to actress Kim Stanley was when she played the self-serving and dominating mother to Frances Farmer (Jessica Lange) in the 1982 movie, Frances.  She marvelously pivoted between helping Frances and simultaneously destroying her.  It was a bold performance, one that earned her an Oscar nomination. 

That was not Kim Stanley’s only Oscar nomination.  She was previously nominated for her leading role as Myra Savage, a psychic medium, in the often overlooked 1964 British crime thriller, Séance on a Wet Afternoon. Séance is an excellently paced and rewarding work that keeps you guessing from beginning to end.

Myra and her husband Billy (Richard Attenborough) Savage exist in a contentious marriage that seems to exist more from necessity and routine than anything else.  We learn that at one time they had a son named Arthur, but what happened to Arthur is shrouded in mystery.  Myra conducts her weekly seances, convinced that Arthur is the entity speaking and guiding her services.  Billy is a man of broken spirit, unable to get a regular job due to poor health, who tells Myra whatever she wants to hear, rather than what she needs to hear. 

To help raise her public profile, Myra convinces Billy to kidnap the young daughter, Amanda, of a wealthy local couple.  Myra's plan is to then offer her psychic services to the girl's family so that she may help "find" her.  Myra and Billy keep the young girl sedated in their home, in a room they have carefully constructed to appear like a hospital room.  Myra and Billy pretend to be a doctor and nurse when interacting with Amanda, their faces carefully concealed by surgical masks, convincing her she is ill.

Richard Attenborough is outstanding as Billy, the pawn of Myra, cognizant that the longer this scheme goes on, the more dangerous it becomes for the two of them, yet he's trapped in a way he can't stop.  Myra on the other hand believes they are simply "borrowing" the child, a harmless act for a good purpose.  Soon they are demanding ransom and Amanda indeed becomes quite ill from the constant sedation the couple has been putting her through.  From the moment of Amanda's kidnapping to the film's final seance, this movie has the viewer on the edge of their seat.  Will the Savages get away with their daring plan, will Amanda live or die, and what happened to baby Arthur?  

Kim Stanley received her Oscar nom for the role, and both she and Attenborough received British Academy Film Award nominations with Attenborough receiving the award.  The film was directed by Bryan Forbes who keeps the camera very tight and somewhat claustrophobic.  The musical score is composed by the amazing John Barry.  Barry is best known for creating the score for 11 James Bond films and being a multiple Oscar-winning composer.  The use of score in Séance on a Wet Afternoon is sparse but highly effective... increasing intensity when needed.  There is one particular sequence when Billy is running around downtown London, evading police, setting up for the ransom drop, and darting in and out of the train station.  As his efforts are playing out, there is a heavy staccato musical score accentuating his fear and anxiety.  Simultaneously, Myra is giving a tour of their house to a police officer.  There is no score in her scenes, just silence, accentuating her calm.  The movie cuts back and forth between the two characters repeatedly for a brilliant representation of the contrast between how Billy and Myra feel about what they are doing. 

Séance on a Wet Afternoon did not do well at the box office yet received generally positive reviews and praise from critics.  I found it to be a true gem, and I am now an even bigger fan of Kim Stanley.  Her performance, along with Attenborough's, should not be missed.  If you subscribe to the streaming service Max, the film is currently available as part of their basic package.