The Diplomacy of Kasey Driscoll

The Image (1975)

The punishment of Anne

Radley Metzger’s finest film in many exploitation film fans’ eyes. It is certainly an interesting film if for nothing but for it’s very existence. It is a rarity to see careful and meticulous hands take on a story that is so explicit and amoral in many viewer’s estimation. Metzger is a wizard at his craft, no doubt about that, but it’s a shame that his craft was and still is considered to be filth, as this film is by no means mainstream or even nearing social acceptability in terms of even what today’s typical NC-17 film offers as far as sexual content limits. This film has scenes that are well past that limit.

The roses of Bagatelle Gardens

One of the earliest disturbing scenes in The Image.

The story is about a writer named Jean who meets an old girlfriend named Claire at a party and upon reestablishing some relationship, he finds her life is basically saturated in sadomasochism. Her slave, Anne, is obviously a major part as well and makes for the most insightful character analysis. The film cuts sharply straight into its themes of dominance and submission in an anterior sense for Jean, in a deeply experienced sense of authority for Claire, and of course in a vulnerable and docile role for Anne. The character commentary is pretty solid, mainly because these kinds of roles are seen so infrequently. I don’t want to insinuate that the film is a study, because it’s not. It is vintage exploitation, so its priority’s are for the most part elsewhere.

Jean, Anne, and Claire at dinner.

Slave girl Anne retrieving her whip.

It’s difficult to comment on in detail, but this movie pulls off being a decent film while at the same time containing elements that most would think were gratuitous. Let’s face it, in today’s American Culture any nudity is deemed gratuitous nudity and as artists, film makers are bound to create films that don’t touch on so many elements in this area of the human psyche. This is no surprise as films like this one, In the Realm of the Senses, Ken Park, some of Catherine Breillet’s work, and many others are often reduced to being called filth despite containing the majority of elements it takes to tell an important story, make a crucial observation and pull at some strong sense of the human spirit. The image does just that.

Humiliation in the bathroom

It also does something all films should consider. That is allow for total freedom of creativity regardless of consequences. Metzger took a story that was about genuinely graphic things and in turn made something few people consider possible, a quality film that explores these unconventional and offensive elements. There are and were some directors who did this, but none I can recall that were quite as carefree as Metzger was for his time. I recommend this film, but do remember that this is a low budget foreign film that one may only come across if ever taken a keen interest in this tiny and bizarre sub-genre.

My rating is 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.