A precocious 16 year old (which is the age of consent in England) schoolgirl (Susan George) begins an affair with a 38 year old writer (Charles Bronson) that leads to a quick marriage. But their age difference and level of maturity makes marital life fraught with tension. Directed by Richard Donner (THE OMEN), this relic of the swinging 60s freedom doesn't play well today. For one thing, the film's humor is borderline offensive but more importantly, what does Bronson's older man see in this childish immature girl? The treatment of the situation is superficial (this is no LOLITA) and the script leaves all the complexities out. The girl's parents (Honor Blackman, Michael Craig) are dropped from the scenario before they even get married. Surely they would have objected to the marriage and taken legal steps to have it annulled or something but instead they're discarded because it would have challenged the dubious romanticism of the situation, at least as the film makers present it to us. The whole thing just leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. A lot of talent is wasted here including Trevor Howard, Jack Hawkins, Robert Morley, Kay Medford, Paul Ford, Orson Bean, Lionel Jeffries and Sue Lloyd.
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