Capsule Reviews: <i>The Neon Ceiling</i>

Capsule Reviews: The Neon Ceiling

Quick-hit movie reviews for the masses.

The 1970s produced an exceptional number of smart, thoughtful dramas about women breaking free of troubled relationships (like Barbara Loden's Wanda) and, usually with a kid or two in tow (like Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore), embarking on a journey of self discovery. The 1971 American television movie The Neon Ceiling is one of the best of the bunch, thanks in no small part to the legendary Lee Grant, as a mother running away from crushing suburban languor—and an appallingly indifferent husband—and taking her young daughter along for the ride.

With no destination in mind, mother and child (played by Denise Nickerson) stop off at a remote gas station and wind up sticking around longer than expected. There they form a tentative, uneasy relationship with the station's eccentric and lonely owner, played with unnerving intensity by Gig Young—only seven years before the actor killed his wife and then took his own life in a horrific murder-suicide. At heart, The Neon Ceiling is a thoughtful, low-key character study of three wounded people.

I’ve always seen Grant as a precursor, or an acting ancestor, to Michelle Pfeiffer. The two legends share two rare and important qualities: they can act circles around everyone else without saying a word—it’s in the eyes—and they make any film they’re in infinitely better than it would’ve been without them.

Grant gives an extraordinarily vulnerable performance in this haunting, beautiful movie. Acclaimed in its time—the Los Angeles Times called it "a work of art"—today, like several movies I've covered in these capsule reviews, it's largely forgotten. Those of us who remember are still waiting for an official DVD and/or Blu-ray release. In the meantime, it’s on the good old YouTube if you’re interested. Highly recommended.

Comments

Realweegiemidget ReviewsMay 9, 2019 at 7:52 AM
Great wee review - did you notice her child is played by Violet Beauregarde (one of the kids from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)).
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Paul SMay 9, 2019 at 2:26 PM
This sounds right up my alley. I'd never heard of it but your review has sold me. I just went over to Letterboxd to see what the reviewers there made of The Neon Ceiling, guess what, there isn't a single review. It is a crying shame so many great films from this period aren't readily available, thank goodness for Youtube.
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