Circle of Two (1980)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Marie-Terese Baird (novel)
Thomas Hedley Jr. (writer)

Release Date:

November 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Their lives would always be entwined...

Plot:

The story of the impossible love between a schoolgirl and a 60-years old painter. |

Plot Keywords:

Painter | Teenager Nudity | May December Romance | Nudity | Female Nudity

Cast

Tatum O'Neal	...	Sarah Norton
Norma Dell'Agnese	...	Ruspoli
Donann Cavin	...	Smitty
Elan Ross Gibson	...	Gym Teacher
Maggie Morris	...	Music Teacher
Richard Burton	...	Ashley St. Clair
Larry Ewashen	...	Men at the Cinema
Robin Gammell	...	Mr. Norton
Patricia Collins	...	Mrs. Norton
Michael Wincott	...	Paul
Daisy White	...	School Secretary
George Bourne Sr.	...	Old Man
Bibi Caspari	...	Mime
Gordon Jocelyn	...	Antiquary
Brendan McKane	...	Man at the Terrace
A. Frank Ruffo	...	Man at the Terrace
Morison Bock	...	Man at the Terrace
Yanka Van Der Kolk	...	Art Gallery Receptionist
Nuala Fitzgerald	...	Claudia Aldrich
Mack Dolgy	...	Art Gallery Client
Leo Leyden	...	Harold Bodel
Leslie Carlson	...	Doctor at the Hospital (as Les Carlson)
Kate Reid	...	Doctor Emily Reid
Patrick Patterson	...	Mover
Pam Hyatt	...	Mrs. Smyth (as Pamela Hyatt)
Doug Smith	...	Mr. Smyth
Grace Stevens	...	Mrs. Ruspoli
Jimmy Leone	...	Mr. Ruspoli
Elias Zarou	...	Doorman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lee Majors	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)
Ryan O'Neal	...	Theatre Patron (uncredited)

Directed by
Jules Dassin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Marie-Terese Baird		novel "A Lesson In Love"
Thomas Hedley Jr.		writer (as Thomas Hedley)

Produced by
William T. Marshall	....	executive producer (as William Marshall)
Bob Rodgers	....	associate producer
Henk Van der Kolk	....	producer

Original Music by
Bernard Hoffer

Non-Original Music by
Carl Orff		(from cantata "Carmina Burana")

Cinematography by
Laszlo George

Film Editing by
David Nicholson

Casting by
Karen Hazzard

Production Design by
Claude Bonniere
François De Lucy

Costume Design by
Theoni V. Aldredge

Makeup Department
Ron Berkeley	....	makeup artist: Richard Burton
Linda Gill	....	standby makeup artist
Adrian Hoffman	....	hair stylist (as Adrian Hofman)
Barbara Palmer	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Robert McCart	....	unit manager (as D. Robert McCart)
Danny Rossner	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sarah Miller Hayward	....	second assistant director
Jerome McCann	....	third assistant director
Timothy Rowse	....	first assistant director
Frank Simpson	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Dan Conley	....	property master
Bruno W. Cywinski	....	graphics
Robert James	....	assistant property master
Weits Jekel	....	construction supervisor (as Wiets Jekel)
David S. Johnston	....	graphics
Joyce Liggett	....	set dresser
Don McQueen	....	set dresser
Phillip Moody	....	sketch artist
Anne Pepper	....	assistant art director
Harold Town	....	artist: Ashley's paintings
Barbara Tranter	....	carpenter
Jacques-Alexander Veilleux	....	property buyer
James Williams	....	scenic artist

Sound Department
Dennis Drummond	....	sound editor
Wayne Griffin	....	sound editor (as Wayne Griffon)
Owen Langevin	....	sound mixer
Randy Milligan	....	sound assistant
Omero Pataracchia	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Bill Wood	....	special effects

Stunts
Dwayne McLean	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean Badal	....	director of photography: second unit
Zoe Dirse	....	second assistant camera
John Ferguson	....	generator operator
Bill Heintz	....	grip
Sam Hughes	....	best boy
Kevin Jewison	....	third assistant camera
David Kelly	....	first assistant camera (as Dave Kelly)
James Kohne	....	grip
Michael Kohne	....	key grip
Harald Ortenburger	....	camera operator
Beverly Rockett	....	still photographer
David Usher	....	gaffer
Ken Wyke	....	electrician (as Kenny Wyke)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gayle Franklin	....	wardrobe coordinator (as Gayle McLeod Franklin)
Sarah Miller Hayward	....	additional wardrobe
Lisette	....	costume alterations
Doris McLeod	....	seamstress
Muriel Sampson	....	wardrobe mistress
Brian Sands	....	wardrobe master

Editorial Department
Michael Dandy	....	assistant editor
Bryon White	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Robert Aitken	....	musician: piccolo solo, Vivaldi concerto
Linda Antonnacci	....	musician: string quintet
Paul Brodie	....	musician: saxophone
Bob Brough	....	musician: saxophone
Alex Dean	....	musician: saxophone
Brad Dunlop	....	musician: banjo
Jim Franck	....	music recordist
Erica Goodman	....	musician: harp solo
Bernard Hoffer	....	conductor
Paul Hoffert	....	musical director
Paul Hoffert	....	orchestrator
Eileen Kim	....	musician: string quintet
Moe Koffman	....	musician: piccolo solo, "Circle of Two"
Judy Noble	....	musician: string quintet
Ian Perry	....	musician: banjo
Larry Sereda	....	musician: saxophone
Lawrence Shragge	....	assistant musical director
Annette Stevens	....	musician: string quintet
Wendy Tummon	....	musician: string quintet
Bryon White	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Craig S. Kohne	....	head driver (as Craig Kohne)
Brian O'Hara	....	transportation captain
Robert Tenaglia	....	driver

Other crew
Andrew Adach	....	production assistant
Sue Anderson	....	accountant
Dr. Jan Blumenstein	....	unit physician
George Cunningham	....	stand-in: Richard Burton
Roslyn Forsyth	....	stand-in: Tatum O'Neal
Linda Goldstein	....	secretary to producer
Ray Harris	....	production assistant
Robert Imeson	....	production assistant
Gaille Ledrew	....	production secretary
Tina McVicars	....	secretary to producer
Cindy Morton	....	production secretary (as Cindy Morton Rossy)
Fima Noveck	....	creative consultant
Brian Nowell	....	assistant fine art advisor
Roma Panczyszyn	....	bookkeeper
Michael Quinn	....	production auditor
Pattie Robertson	....	script supervisor
Gail Singer	....	location manager
Fran Solomon	....	location manager (as Fran Soloman)
Judi Swartz	....	production secretary
Diane Szewzyk	....	bookkeeper
Donna Thomas	....	assistant: Theoni V. Aldredge
Harold Town	....	fine art advisor
Dr. Roger L. Turner	....	chiropractor

Production Companies

• Film Consortium of Canada
• Milton Zyrman Production

Distributors

• World Northal (1981) (USA)

Other Companies

• Bishop Strachan Girls' Choir  music performers: "Carmina Burana"
• Boyd, Stott & McDonald Investments  funding
• Stephenson, Ramsey, O'Donnell Ltd.  publicity

Also Known As:

Les ages du coeur (Canada: French title)
Obsession

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:K-12 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda

Company:

Film Consortium of Canada

Trivia:

When Tatum O'Neal's character goes to the porn theater where she meets Richard Burton's character for the first time, Lee Majors and Tatum's father Ryan O'Neal are clearly seen as two of the people in the theater. Ryan O'Neal visited the set often to supervise his daughter due to the film's sensitive material.

Quotes:

Sarah Norton: Have you thought about going to bed with me?
Ashley St. Clair: Yes.
Sarah Norton: [walks over to the bed] Let's.
Ashley St. Clair: Obviously, no.
Sarah Norton: Why? Is it because you think I'm a virgin? Because if you think I am...
Ashley St. Clair: You are.
Sarah Norton: I am.

Movie Connections:

References Gone with the Wind (1939)

Soundtrack:

Circle of Two

Circle of Two Review

The premise for Circle of Two is an intriguing one. A forbidden love between a sixty year old painter Ashleigh (Richard Burton) and a fifteen year old girl Sarah Norton (Tatum O'Neill); and the question of whether such a relationship is acceptable given society's standards. The problem with Circle of Two, however, is that it fails to live up to its promise. Director Jules Dassin and Hedley should have put more thought into the screenplay. When I watched this film, I expected to learn something new about love and sexuality. Instead, I got boring dialogue, a pointless lecture on art, outings where Sarah seemed to have more fun away from Ashleigh, and a closing scene so artificial that its emotional impact was lost. This script makes good actors look bad. So one can imagine how the film's problems were compounded even further with the largely amateurish cast that Jules Dassin assembled. Tatum O'Neill was not in her element. I did not believe for a second that her character Sarah was in love with Ashleigh. Her performance seemed superficial, like a contestant at a beauty pageant. It was as though she forced herself to be happy, when the script required her to be happy, and to be sad, when the script asked her to be sad. The only scene I liked with her in was at the very end when she said nothing at all. That was probably the closest Tatum's Sarah Norton ever came to being real. But Tatum was not the only one at fault. Richard Burton's Ashleigh lacked the charm, the charisma and the complexity to attract even women of his own age, let alone a fifteen year old. The rest of the cast was also dismal. Even their arguing was unconvincing, because they waited to take turns. Who does that? Michael Wincott as the jealous ex-boyfriend Paul was probably the best thing in this film, but his role was small. To be fair to the actors, Dassin's direction let everyone down; but it is also true that a great movie goes beyond the script. Kubrick's Lolita did that with James Mason and Sue Lyon; Konchalovsky's Runaway Train went beyond the script with Jon Voight and Eric Roberts playing convicts. The directors of these films also knew how to use music to dramatize their films and reveal something about the characters in them. In spite of its own score (a combination of Antonio Vivaldi, Carl Off and Bernard Hoffer), Circle of Two never succeeds in doing that.

In conclusion, the idea of a forbidden love story between an elder painter and a teenage girl is a good one, but its execution in Circle of Two is terrible. In many ways, it is a shame that a controversial, Lolita-type story – which most film directors for understandable reasons would prefer to avoid – did not have receive more intelligent treatment; that a script which actors would have gladly rehearsed was not written; that actors, who were committed to their part or had the talent to make their characters real, could not be found; and that the director Jules Dassin (who did so much better with films like Rififi and Topkapi) did not have to will to put his foot down and say, "Before we do any filming, we must rethink the love story and revamp the script." The only silver lining is that one day an intelligent film about an elder painter and a teenager girl falling in love may one day be made. If such a film ever appears, this it will be surely spark controversy, debate and questions for many years to come.