Review for Fedora

There is no doubt that ‘Fedora’ is both a fun and intriguing film. It has enough twists and turns to keep you hooked throughout. But whether it qualifies as a ‘Masters of Cinema’ release is another question. I guess as a Billy Wilder film, it does. Few would argue about the brilliance of the man; indeed, with The Apartment, he was the first person to win Academy Awards as producer, director and screenwriter for the same film. But with some fifty films under his belt, ‘Fedora’ was his penultimate film and, arguably, at the age of 73, it was perhaps inevitable that it would not be his finest.


‘Fedora’ is another in a line of Hollywood reflections, this time focused on the tragedy of age and Hollywood’s brutal dismissal of many of its stars once they were past the first flush of their attractive youth.

Fedora is a faded starlet (Marthe Keller) who was once the toast of Hollywood. Despite the fact that she is now rumoured to be somewhere between 60 and 70, sporadic appearances and interviews suggest she looks as youthful as she ever did. Now living as a recluse just off the Greek Island of Corfu, in the home of a highly protective and secretive Countess, she is rarely seen – even by locals. It’s understood that she has been subject to treatment by a specialist Doctor who has maintained her youth on every part of her body, except the hands which she keeps under wraps with white gloves.


But despite that, her reputation keeps her in the public’s eye – especially a few years ago when she won an Oscar for lifetime achievement, delivered to her by Henry Fonda in person. (It’s a curious thing that both he, and later Michael York, play themselves in the film).


An Independent Producer, Barry Detweiler (William Holden who starred in many of Wilder’s previous films), himself once Fedora’s lover for a few fleeting nights during a production many year’s before, has come to Greece to try to persuade Fedora to come out of retirement to take a leading role in a new production of Anna Karenina. Indeed, he needs to get her commitment before he can secure the finances.


At first he finds it almost impossible to get anywhere near Fedora who seems to be a prisoner rather than a guest of the eccentric Countess, who has taken to wearing black including a complete lace face covering, and who is wheelchair bound and rarely seen without a cigarette.


Eventually Detweiler gets his chance in a local store where it seems Fedora has gone to secure some illicit drugs. He talks briefly with her and is eventually invited to the Countess’s home to discuss the film.

What follows is a bizarre series of events and a major twist that almost seem worth taking the time to get to – and which I won’t spoil here. Michael York appears in slight flashback in the film as a younger co-star with whom Fedora has an affair which she seems loathe to forget.


Released in the same year as some of the most iconic films of all time (Jaws, Star Wars, Taxi Driver are just a few), it’s hardly surprising that film seemed to sink without trace. When set against those blockbusters, it seems a very slight film indeed; perhaps more suited to a time gone by that the mid to late 1970s.


The picture quality of excellent, taken from a German 2K restoration from original negatives though it does have a period softness, as well as a non-vivid, almost pastel palette which was a look favoured at the time, and which dates the film somewhat.


The supplements are a bit slight with a few slightly inconsequential deleted scenes; a short film about the restoration of Fedora and a booklet with new essays by Neil Sinyard and David Cairns.


‘Fedora’ failed to set the world on fire on release and will fail to do so now but is, nonetheless, an entraining look at the shallowness of Hollywood and a worthwhile watch. It’s also of historic interest for Wilder fans who see him reunited with Holden in a film not dissimilar in theme to his ‘Sunset Boulevard’ classic. The twist at the end of the tale is very entertaining too (though you may see it coming) and makes for a very satisfying conclusion to a film that is very easy to watch.