Screen/Society--"A New Leaf" (Elaine May, 1971)

"A New Leaf"
(Elaine May, 1971, 102 min, USA, English, Color, Digital)

Writer-director-star Elaine May's first feature concerns stunted manboy Henry (Walter Matthau) who, having squandered his inherited wealth, plots to marry and murder the very rich and very maladjusted Henrietta (May.) Behind the camera, May constructs a bevy of clever visual gags, and her script is packed with more ironic barbs than a classic Simpsons episode, but it's the otherworldly physical comedy in her performance which ultimately steals the show. Watch how she holds a teacup just so. Watch her navigate a nightgown like she's never considered what it's like to have a head, or limbs. May's comic brilliance touches every part of the screen here, in one of the most mordant (and hilarious) rom-coms ever made.

-- Introduced by Franklin Cason, Jr., Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies at Duke University.

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