The Whisperers (1967) -
Though this film was hard to watch, I appreciated a lot about it. Most notably, Edith Evans' spectacular performance. As others have noted, she effectively captures the solitude and isolation of someone who's lived in isolation throughout so much of her life to the point she has imaginary conversations in her apartment. Overall, her work in this film is pretty incredible. I normally don't pay attention to acting when I watch films, but her performance here would definitely make a short list of my favorite acting performances.
While there's a focus on her current mental state, we mainly see instances of other people mistreating her. Well, a lot of them, actually. She's mistreated when she goes to church, she's mistreated by her son, she's betrayed by a friend, she's insulted by a neighbor when she voices her concern for her safety, she's mistreated by her husband, etc. While this isn't all that happens to her in the film (the hospital sequence is one of the only instances that anyone shows genuine care for her), a lot of this film consists of her being mistreated, verbally abused, and neglected by those around her. Due to this, I imagine a lot of people will be depressed by this film.
WARNING: spoilers below
While Mrs. Ross's arc could be simplified to her being mistreated over and over again, I think a lot more is going on. Finding the money her son left acted as her opportunity to find solace from her current state of isolation and discomfort. It's implied that, before the events of the film, Mrs. Ross didn't have many social communications, nor did she talk to many people. She mainly spent her life living in isolation from the outside world. The heart of the film can be found in Mrs. Ross's desire to break free from her current mental state and her continued attempts to pursue this goal, even as they keep falling flat. Yes, none of her efforts work out, and yes, she ultimately goes back to her life of solitude. Looking back, however, the film ultimately didn't leave me depressed when it ended. I think the ending is more hopeful and layered than it seems on the surface. This is because her apartment has now become a place of comfort for her instead of a torturous environment. I got the sense from the ending that she's more comfortable with her life of isolation than she was in the beginning, reacting to the leaky faucet in her apartment with a smile and a content "Are you there?" rather than the nervous "I know you're there! You leave me alone!" she exclaimed at the start of the film. The Whisperers is about Mrs. Ross attempting to break free from her current unhealthy living condition, being unable to accomplish this task, but obtaining a new fondness for and a sense of comfort with her apartment in the process. While it was a bumpy road, she became better off in the end.
While Mrs. Ross's arc could be simplified to her being mistreated over and over again, I think a lot more is going on. Finding the money her son left acted as her opportunity to find solace from her current state of isolation and discomfort. It's implied that, before the events of the film, Mrs. Ross didn't have many social communications, nor did she talk to many people. She mainly spent her life living in isolation from the outside world. The heart of the film can be found in Mrs. Ross's desire to break free from her current mental state and her continued attempts to pursue this goal, even as they keep falling flat. Yes, none of her efforts work out, and yes, she ultimately goes back to her life of solitude. Looking back, however, the film ultimately didn't leave me depressed when it ended. I think the ending is more hopeful and layered than it seems on the surface. This is because her apartment has now become a place of comfort for her instead of a torturous environment. I got the sense from the ending that she's more comfortable with her life of isolation than she was in the beginning, reacting to the leaky faucet in her apartment with a smile and a content "Are you there?" rather than the nervous "I know you're there! You leave me alone!" she exclaimed at the start of the film. The Whisperers is about Mrs. Ross attempting to break free from her current unhealthy living condition, being unable to accomplish this task, but obtaining a new fondness for and a sense of comfort with her apartment in the process. While it was a bumpy road, she became better off in the end.