Vanessa Redgrave's ferocious performance dominates this mostly well-mounted but unduly long biography of "modern" dancer Isadora Duncan. So overpowering is Redgrave's performance, it's difficult to recall anything about ISADORA except for her fluttering around. At times she comes off like a turn of the century Stevie Nicks, with her wild hair and layers of flowing dresses. We see Duncan scandalize society on both sides of the Atlantic and then conquer Russia. Along the way she gets involved with every man she meets including Jason Robards as heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune. Redgrave clearly throws herself into the part body and soul, although the make-up used to age her is garish. The flashy, time-bending direction by Karel Reisz helps make the film more enjoyable than it otherwise would be and the ending is a stunner even if you know what happened to Duncan.
Review of Isadora
