X, Y & Zee (1972) User Reviews

Martha's Ignorant Twin

[danielledecolombie · 7/10 · 26 August 2017]

Elizabeth Taylor is just amazing. She goes for this superficial, primitive bitch with every weapon in her arsenal. Her Zee is like Martha's - Taylor's character in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf - disgraceful twin. The one who probably never read anything, dropped out of school. She was probably disowned by her intellectual father and she went all out. Her performance is free of any literary constrictions - I mean this is not by Edward Albee - she can jump and roll at her own speed, at her own volume. Michael Caine feels like a pussycat next to her and Susannah York? She makes sense in a rather senseless character. An added charm is the appearance of the spectacular Margaret Leighton.

Taylor on a Rampage

[prguy721 · 7/10 · 8 October 2014]

X, Y and Zee is one of those rare films that can be perceived differently now than when it was originally released and be more enjoyable. However, one has to be in the right frame of mind. As a straight drama, it can be trite, uneven and a bit preposterous. But viewed as a kind of fascinating cultural time capsule with an over-the-top performance by Elizabeth Taylor as the scorned wife of a philandering Michael Caine, it can actually be quite entertaining and even hilarious. Never has any woman tried so hard to keep her man in the face of dire circumstances while simultaneously wreaking havoc on just about everyone. X, Y and Zee is a strange little film, but if you're a Taylor fan and don't mind overlooking a few flaws, you might find it quite entertaining and amusing. One thing for sure...this film belongs to Taylor; without her, it would be nothing.

Overwritten but entertaining sexual melodrama about an absolute bitch

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 7/10 · 19 June 2005]

In this sexual melodrama—where the flow of bad language was new at the time—Liz is the dark heroine, a passionate woman who listens to blaring rock; Susannah York is the misty-eyed fair heroine, all prissy decorum, who listens to dignified classical music… Paunchy Michael Caine is the man between… The contest is merely an excuse for Liz, as the randy wife of a straying husband, to bask in the vulgarity she has such contagious fun with…

Like Maggie the Cat, Liz-Zee is determined to ensnare her man, even going so far as to seduce her rival… Taylor's embrace of Susannah York is awfully tentative, altogether lacking the fervor of her attentions to Lassie or Paul Newman or Montgomery Clift…

Overwritten but entertaining, this sexual melodrama is a blatant and hollow confection… Two hours of relentless bitching by Liz, it's a valentine to her fans, a good-natured send-up of her earth mother, sex goddess image

Virginia Woolf visits the Thames River

[JOHNBATES-1 · 12 November 2003]

... but without Edward Ablee's Pulitzer Prize winning touch. Taylor is firing on all eight cylinders again, as she did against Burton's George. This time 'George' is a remote, self-centered, enterprising individual and often on mute control around his tiger wife.

You quickly get a belly full of Taylor's ranting and antics - but there are real performance gems strewn around. And you wonder why in the world York's character with her quiet temperament and lifestyle would risk getting consumed alive by two battling idiots. If it was for the excitement, a crash landing was her sad reward.

Nevertheless, this forgotten film is worth watching just to see the three talented principals on the same set together go through their paces.

Part 3 in the Trilogy!

[johnnyjeremymusic-56956 · 7/10 · 19 March 2018]

Elizabeth Taylor's bitch character is so captivating, enthralling, and compelling that I felt compelled to do my part in making it known that this film, along with Reflections in a Golden Eye, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, illustrate a kind of woman who rarely gets her due in Hollywood film making. These three films are fantastic vehicles which capture, what I view as, an underappreciated angle of the feminine soul.

There's an intangible and honest quality to Elizabeth Taylor's character that is rarely captured by any actress. The character she plays in these three films make for great entertainment, storytelling, and are true to core sensual feminine qualities.

Off the top of my head, outside of Gone Girl and the Wicked Lady; there are too few archetypal female characters of this kind who exude this exclusively unique feminine character. It is an interesting archetype. An archetype which many of us have met, known, and had relationships with. They should have more stories written about them.

Elizabeth Taylor Raises Caine

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 29 August 2010]

Big, boozy, and beautiful Elizabeth Taylor (as Zee) has an "modern marriage" with London architect Michael Caine (as Robert Blakeley). Their extra-curricular activities aren't too serious. Then, Mr. Caine falls in "love at first sight" with blonde boutique owner Susannah York (as Stella). Caine sets her up in an apartment and plans to leave Ms. Taylor. Sensing a rival who will truly threaten her marriage, Taylor ingratiates herself into her husband's romance - intending to end the affair, or go crazy trying.

Neatly re-titled "X Y & Zee" for American consumption, enjoying this film will depend on your tolerance for Taylor's shrill, boisterous character. The drama was very "adult" for the time, but seems reluctant to show much concerning the final plan "Zee" uses to keep her husband. It also is altered from the blatant (and necessarily bisexual) "ménage à trois" in the original story (by Edna O'Brien). The more tenuous ending does retain the integrity of Taylor's character, and leaves "Zee" in a similar position.

****** Zee and Co. (12/71) Brian G. Hutton ~ Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, Susannah York. Margaret Leighton

Love triangle with boozy, blurred edges...satisfying for some

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 24 August 2010]

An original screenplay from Edna O'Brien about a married British architect whose extramarital affair with a pretty, placid boutique owner plays havoc in his relationship with his catty, cunning spouse--a woman with a wild-party lifestyle who spends her spare time plotting to arouse her husband in various ways. As the jabbing, biting Zee Blakeley, Elizabeth Taylor channels both her Leonora from "Reflections in a Golden Eye" and, most especially, Martha from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"; although this is really just a gaudy soap opera, the actress seems to relish her blowzy role, giving it some thought and also some pathos when she's not hooping and hollering, drunk or sober. Michael Caine is a formidable match for Taylor, though in an entirely different key; he adjusts his performance to underscore her rhythm and gives us the sense of a marriage that has seen many dark days. As the widowed mother of two who comes between them, Susannah York is rather an enigma, and O'Brien's turning the character into a woman with secrets in her closet doesn't quite come off (it plays like a stunt, and carries over to the finale). The piece is erratic and exhausting, but certainly not without interest, and Taylor is an entertainment all by herself. She holds the screen in a tight grasp, with no intention of letting go, and this is enough to keep the picture hypnotically watchable. ** from ****

Who's afraid of Zee?

[DAshton1918 · 6/10 · 24 June 2023]

An obvious companion piece to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" this Liz Taylor tour-de-force could be considered that classic's sequel...or "When George and Martha Tuned in and Dropped Out".

La Liz plays Zee Blakely, unhappy wife to an unhappy husband, played by the brilliant Michael Caine. They go to a swinging 60s party (even though this is 1972...the Brits just didn't want to let the decade go...yet!) and Caine meets the lovely Susannah York who he immediately flirts with and ultimately gets involved with. Sparks fly as Liz inserts herself into their relationship...in more ways than one!

A must-see for Liz's performance, as bold and brave as any actress (or actor) gets. Caine keeps pace and matches her at several points but poor Susannah has little to do but watch from the sidelines. Not familiar with the source material (book) but some changes were made for obvious reasons (I mean, free love and all but is STILL is 1972!).

Can't believe in my decades of watching I've never seen this one...thanks to TMC for unearthing it for their "Summer Camp"...frankly the ONLY camping I'm interested in! 😂

NOT for everyone and the ending is a bit "wonky" as the Brits say but a great movie for a Sunday brunch during Pride month!

Audaciously bad

[AlsExGal · 5/10 · 24 June 2020]

Zee Blakeley (Elizabeth Taylor) and her husband Robert (Michael Caine) are playing table tennis over the opening credits and making exaggerated facial expressions of joy, which should be a warning right off the bat that the movie is a disaster waiting to happen. It turns out that the Blakeley's marriage ought to be ending in divorce, so Robert decides to have an affair with a widow he met at a party, Stella (Susannah York).

Zee finds out, and doesn't like it, so she decides to be catty in a whole bunch of ways, including attempting suicide and really coming between Robert and Stella. All the while the characters partake in fabulously tacky 70s style and (for the women) hairdos while delivering tawdry one-liners. Margaret Leighton, however, tops Taylor and York in the bad hair department

Life and Lovers to experience

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 21 September 2017]

X,Y&Z stars that romantic trio of Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, and Susannah York. I'm thinking Richard Burton must have been working on another project so Michael Caine was substituted in a part that seemed clearly written for Burton.

Caine and Taylor are a pair of married somethings who are starting to look a lot like George and Martha from Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. That would be another 20 years or so. At the moment they still have a lot of life and lovers to experience.

But for reasons not fully explained Taylor resents York, a widow with two small children far more than any of the others Caine has had. She no doubts sees a slightly younger version of herself. It really is because while the two women are having a most civilized lunch to amicably dispose of the matter of Caine, York says something to Taylor that really reminds her of herself. Something that later Taylor uses to her advantage. At the end we don't really know what's in store for this triangle.

Caine and Taylor have the showier roles, but York gives a nice understated performance. Not one hint of the end I will reveal, but it really does kind of blow Caine's mind.

I'm sure this had Richard Burton in mind originally. Watch and see if you don't agree.

As bizarre as its title.

[gridoon · 4/10 · 17 August 2002]

Audacious, totally off-the-wall trash about architect Michael Caine, who is stuck in a hopeless, almost masochistic marriage with half-crazy Elizabeth Taylor, and begins an extramarital affair with Susannah York, who nonetheless has secrets of her own....Because of the movie's cast, and of the fact that you've probably never heard of it, you might think that it could be an undiscovered gem. Alas, this is not the case. We never even get a handle on the characters; any resemblance between the way these people talk and behave and the way REAL people talk and behave is strictly coincidental. York comes closer to portraying a recognizable human being, but not close enough. (**)

Liz at Her Screeching Best

[donwc1996 · 8/10 · 3 June 2013]

What film fan does not adore La Liz who more than anyone gives movies the sparkle they deserve. After all, we go to the movies to escape the rat race for a couple hours - no other reason, right? And Liz never disappoints. What makes her so great is the simple fact she knows she's the best and she always gives her best. Even in a pedestrian vehicle like this one, it is impossible to ignore La Liz in all her glory. She is what stardom is about and will always be the ultimate star regardless of what the AFI says. Number 7??? Give me a break! La Liz defines stardom because she is the ultimate star and the AFI can go blow smoke rings. Michael Caine, of course, is always wonderful with the ability to make you interested even if you do not want to be. He manages to be incredibly sexy without half trying and that more than anything else is why he is a star. The script is utter nonsense without a single redeeming moment in it but Taylor and Caine make the most of it and it is impossible not to care what happens.

pulpy lusty melodrama

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 24 June 2023]

Zee (Elizabeth Taylor) and Robert Blakeley (Michael Caine) are a heated married couple in swinging London. He is taken with Stella (Susannah York) and they start an affair. It's a toxic mix of lust, jealousy, and petty revenge as Zee intends to break them up.

This is also known as Zee and Co. These characters are not that appealing. Elizabeth Taylor is camping it up. Michael Caine does well to keep up. Susannah York seems incapable of doing anything more than bland sweetness. She struggles to be more than a victim. There is no actual rooting interest although I am interested in how dark this could get. It's not the darkest, but it has some dark tones. It is trying to be a pulpy lusty melodrama, and it does succeed in that.

Bad As Bad Could Possibly Be

[Pink_Floyd_Fan_95 · 1/10 · 24 June 2023]

I was lucky enough to live as long as I have without seeing this POS movie. Now I can only hope any memories of this putrid movie's awful dialogue, twisted relationships and Elizabeth Taylor's over the top banshee screams will soon fade from my brain.

Everything from the script, costumes, musical score and direction were second rate. How Taylor, Caine and York, or their agents, thought this was a good career choice simply boggles the mind. As the movie unfolds, you begin to realize there isn't a single person you can relate to or even care about.

Lastly, who gives their serial cheating husband a going away party when he leaves to go live with his mistress???

See it with someone gay!

[ONenslo · 6 November 2003]

Or at least see it with an eye for FABulous clothing and wild party scenes. This was made in that part of the seventies which people really mean when they say "the sixties." Every costume Liz stuffs her pneumatic self into is at least mildly atrocious and at best wildly elaborate. She's at the top of her form as a soulless, relentlessly destructive monster as unstoppable as any giant insect from the fifties. She takes her crass, unlikeable husband apart and puts him back together again at will, and the glint in her eyes shows she'll never never quit. Caine and York fill out their roles pretty well but in the end they are Liz's toys and she doesn't play nice. And since it wasn't made in America the movie doesn't dumb everything down and flake out into a happy ending for anybody but the conquering she-monster. This movie comes down right in the middle between Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and BOOM! - Not as grinding and emotionally draining as the former and without the lack of events and plot that makes it difficult for some people to enjoy the latter. And if for some reason you happen to like Three Dog Night, there's an extra bonus for you here as Zee likes to play them REAL LOUD first thing in the morning.

Not a film to dismiss if not quite an absolute ball

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 5 October 2018]

'Zee and Co.' had enough to draw me in. It had an interesting concept and the cast is full of talent, with Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine and Susannah York. My expectations weren't completely high, due to seeing and hearing negative things about the film from people whose opinions have always been expected by me.

Having said all that, although it is not a great film and has a good deal that makes one understand why it is not particularly highly thought of, 'Zee and Co.' for me was not a bad one either. If asked whether it is better than its reputation, the answer would be yes but not to a significant degree. There are enough good things and it entertains, but 'Zee and Co.' would have been better with more subtlety and trying to do less, can see where people are coming from finding fault with it.

Its best asset is the cast, who fare very well and rise above the material. Taylor is especially good, even if the film is not quite an absolute ball she certainly does that and is just magnetic to watch. Although his character is not a likeable and quite crass one Caine does bring enough charm to make one see what the characters see in him. He and Taylor do work well together, regardless of how it is written not making complete sense and the feeling of Taylor working better with Richard Burton not quite shaken off. York's character doesn't make an awful lot of sense, although the one easiest to get behind, but York is demure and charming. The chemistry between the actors, as well as the performances, is what lifts 'Zee and Co.' to a better level.

Other strengths are the stylish photography and wildly elaborate costumes. There are some funny and chilling lines, some scenarios are fun to watch and the film didn't leave me bored. The final act is pretty neat and quite daring in spots.

However, the story is contrived and gets preposterous more often than not, it definitely could have done with trying to do less which would have stopped it from being less muddled and cluttered. The nun-same sex subplot fits awkwardly amidst everything else that it comes over as strange, is particularly confused and could have been left out easily. Although there are some great entertaining moments and lines, the script is overwritten and over-heated, the melodrama getting over the top that it becomes camp.

Characters are intriguing enough if lacking dimension and subtlety, York's being the only one to have anything resembling a redeeming quality and Taylor's is particularly reprehensible.

Summing up, interesting and enjoyable at times but flawed and somewhat odd. 6/10 Bethany Cox

It just can't ever quite seem to completely find its feet.

[I_Ailurophile · 6/10 · 14 March 2023]

I'm all in favor of movies that are filled with sharp wit and repartee, and charged character dynamics. The subtler and more underhanded, the better. Is there such a thing as too much, however? Can there be a point where that pointed cleverness is so proliferate that it begins to feel too saturated - the cinematic equivalent of semantic satiation - and false for the fact of it? I think so, and I think this is a a prime example. It becomes so even by the time that only fifteen minutes have passed, a realization that is not aided by pacing that maintains an unnatural, slightly forced clip. It becomes so even as some particular instances of dialogue and scene writing are so weirdly offbeat as to inspire a quizzical turn of the head. Even as celluloid icon Elizabeth Taylor is purposefully overacting with all the devious, malicious cheek she can muster, as is fitting for how Edna O'Brien wrote her character, still there are moments where she seems to veer so from the median as to feel out of place. By comparison poor Susannah York feels downright overwhelmed and subsumed, again more than how her role is written, and likewise for Michael Caine, even as he plays off of Taylor's energy.

I do, in fact, enjoy 'X, Y, and Zee.' More than not I think it's well done. But something about it constantly feels indescribably off, whether it's the sprightly pacing, or never finding the right tone, or feeling imbalanced, or at times possibly unfocused. It careens between flavors of wry comedy and definite drama, but never seems to fully land on either. Many are those films that have been made, in every genre, about fraught dynamics in marriages and love triangles, and otherwise domestic discord. I'm not wholly sure what went wrong here that it struggles so much to strike the same chords that have been struck again and again elsewhere, but somehow I'm just not entirely convinced.

There are certainly instances when the picture does feel like it's firing on all cylinders, though these are rather scattered. There are bigger themes and ideas in the writing that show themselves, and increasingly as the length draws on. I like the music that greets our eyes in and of itself, though how it is employed here is sometimes a bit grating. Despite the unevenness I do think the cast perform well. I like the costume design, and the hair and makeup work; the production design and art direction are lovely. All this is fine. It also doesn't matter a whole lot when overall the movie just can't seem to meaningfully find its feet. Those moments where it feels like 'X, Y, and Zee' is really hitting on something good are juxtaposed with others that are a little puzzling. The end result of all this is a title that has difficulty earnestly making a significant lasting impression.

It's enjoyable and worthwhile. Those who are diehard fans of someone involved will surely get more out of it, and no doubt there are many other viewers who will watch this and find it an outstanding, absorbing viewing experience. I think it wavers so much between "Yes, more of this!" and "what?" and "meh" that in sum the feature is kind of middling, and unexceptional. I want to like this more than I do, but I also wonder if I'm being too generous. Check it out, by all means, but keep your expectations in check. Maybe that's the best way to ensure you'll get the most out of it.

Watch Stella get her groove back!

[mark.waltz · 2/10 · 14 October 2010]

Susannah York is Stella, a prominent London fashion designer who gets the wrath of she-devil Elizabeth Taylor when she begins an affair with her architect husband, Michael Caine. Liz, even more of a harpy than her Oscar Winning role of Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", runs around London in colorfully made clothes that look like "Laugh-In" backdrops. Liz is not content enough to stalk her prey-she reveals vital information of her marriage's intimacy to York, harasses her on the phone, stalks her with a gay confidante, and ultimately uses a suicide attempt to extract info about York's past from the unsuspecting woman. The revelation is a doozy, and what Liz does with it has to be seen to be believed!

Liz's Zee is a dangerous woman who would rather see herself and Caine endure a miserable marriage than to let York's good girl have him. Poor Liz screeches her way through another performance, sometimes seeming older than her 40 years, all the while acting like a grown-up Rhoda from "The Bad Seed". "I don't bray!", Liz cried in "Virginia Woolf", but here she does. It's such a shame that Liz and Michael Caine's only film together was this delightfully awful movie, because they truly compliment each other. If you want to see how real bitchery can be art, however, watch Michael Caine exchange barbs with Maggie Smith in "California Suite". Fortunately, this was the end of Liz's cycle of screeching is acting films, and she took time off for another Richard Burton marriage, her fling as a politician's wife, and thankfully, her magnificently brief career on stage. When she came back to films (on television), she had a somewhat softer image, but in "The Flinstones" and "These Old Broads", this brassy side was out again.

York is lovely and manages to come off a bit more dignified than Taylor, while Michael Caine is a true pro. Margaret Courtney in a cameo looks like Vincent Price getting ready to fry Coral Browne in "Theatre of Blood".

Campy melodrama

[HarlequeenStudio · 5/10 · 17 June 2017]

I only came here to see La Liz in caftans and big hair and violet eye shadow overload, playing her tabloid self, and I leave satisfied. Michael Caine transforms from Stella's (Susannah York) dream lover to a Peckham vulgarian husband, depending on a woman that happens to be next to him. Caine and Taylor are fun to watch, while Susannah York's Stella, looking like a Pre-Raphaelite princess, seems out of place surrounded by the garish furniture and over the top costumes. A really horrible production design that makes a great backdrop for Zee (Taylor) and she wallows in it. You cannot not like the soap opera quality of it. The film can't decide whether it's a drama or a comedy, but I guess Susannah York's character somehow keeps it balanced, preventing it from being utterly silly.

If you like seeing a couple try to destroy each other, then you'll enjoy this film.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 26 November 2022]

"Zee and Co." (also known as "X, Y and Zee") is a film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Caine. They are an unhappily married couple who obviously hate each other. He cheats on her, she yells and berates and schemes....much like Taylor's famous film "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". And so, if you like seeing sophisticated and well dressed people ripping each other apart and scheming and with a wild and sexy ending, then this film is for you!

As for me, I generally DON'T like films which are nasty and vicious like this one. It's definitely a film that will not appeal to all tastes...as you can tell from reviews which are all over the place! Plenty of folks hated it...plenty thought it was brilliant. I just couldn't look past the fact that they were horrible people.

Elizabeth Taylor shines in Comic tour de force.

[MGMboy · 10/10 · 11 July 2003]

Set in the swinging London scene of the early 1970's, the last gasp of the hippie era clashes with the chic international jet set. The result is this triangular jewel of a movie. Robert Blakeley (Michael Caine) is married to the glamorous, manic and barren Zee (Elizabeth Taylor). Intricate games and a few threads of love hold the marriage together. Into the volatile mix comes Stella, a younger woman who is on the edge and ready for a little shove. Michael Caine and Susannah York are great actors in any right. Mr. Caine particularly shines in this film. However in `X, Y and Zee' both actors are blown off the screen by an inspired comic performance by Elizabeth Taylor. Not often given the chance to play comedy she turns in a well-timed and poignantly funny performance in this Black Comedy of marriage, sexual confusion, and social boredom. It is sad that Miss Taylor was mostly relegated to dramas and not allowed often enough to stretch her comic wings. You can see flashes of her comic abilities in such odd fare as "Boom", "Reflections In A Golden Eye" and "Hammersmith Is Out!" But in this film she soars as a woman of wit and warmth who will stop at nothing to come out on top.

The Reviews On "X Y & Zee" Were Unanimously BAD!

[nneprevilo · 1/10 · 20 November 2007]

When "X Y & Z" opened in New York, it faced unanimous horrible reviews from the film critics. Rex Reed gave it a zero and went after Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Caine, Susannah York and Margaret Leighton with a vengeance.

Rex went on about the new wave of sex in the movies and said about this movie: "Well, sex is back in "X Y & Zee," as wretched and slimy a pail of slop as I've ever seen dumped on a movie screen, with the misguided Elizabeth Taylor playing chief pig in the pig sty..."X Y & Zee" is a depraved lesbian horror film with flabby, oatmeal-colored Michael Caine trying vainly to out-weight and out-scream the bloated Miss Taylor before they both get thrown out of the Screen Actors Guild." Believe me, he said plenty more.

Me, the fool, went out and saw this on a double bill and wish I had listened to Mr. Reed. If you were among the pot smokers and free love people who staggered out of the 60s wearing your "I Hate Doris Day" tee shirts, you probably got a big kick out of this trash. I left the theatre disgusted.

Liz's diet pills and their side effects

[mls4182 · 2/10 · 13 September 2023]

As good as Elizabeth Taylor was in the 1950s and 1960s, she was horrible and self indulgent in the 1970s. In nearly every film of the decade, she appears to be making it all up as she goes along.

She comes across as entitled to be as obnoxious as she wants, act as badly as she can, and wear clothes two sizes too small and twenty years too young for her.

On one hand, she seems overconfident and not even bothering to act. On the other hand, she seems to show up just for the paycheck.

The worst part of it is dragging Michael Caine and Susannah York with her. The true travesty of this film is them making Margaret Leighton look and act like Quentin Crisp in drag.

X, Y and ZZZ

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 4/10 · 21 April 2018]

I have an iron-clad rule that any movie with slo-mo is a dog. It's usually a bad sports-themed movie that needs slo-mo to make things seem more dramatic than they really are. It could be a romantic movie where two lovers ran slo-mo across a beach toward each other's out-stretched arms. In this case it's two lovers playing a sport (ping-pong) over the opening credits. And sure enough, the movie is a bowzer. Especially laughable is watching two members of the Elvis Presley generation cavorting to faux rock & roll. There's a little fake Beatles (OK, Ravi Shankar) and some fake Led Zeppelin, and who knows what else. Susannah York is as inert is radon. At certain points I thought Michael Caine was about to fall asleep. At least Liz games it up in that fright wig. She deserved better material.

Who's Afraid of Zee Blakeley?

[JohnSeal · 5/10 · 26 September 2010]

I always get this film confused with Unman, Wittering, and Zigo, another British drama from 1972, but other than the similar titles they're fairly distinct creatures. In contrast to UWZ's somewhat down at heel pedigree, X, Y, and Zee (known as Zee and Co. in the UK) stars Liz Taylor as the wife of successful architect Robert Blakeley (Michael Caine), whose currently engaged in an adulterous affair with younger woman Stella (Susannah York). It's a brash, soapy affair that allows Taylor to vent in best Virginia Wolff style, whilst Caine and York are, predictably, a little more subtle and quite excellent. The film tries a bit too hard to outrage--the lesbian sub-plot is particularly silly and hasn't aged well--but provides a decent showcase for its three leads.