Book Review of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

 Brilliant material for a play. I first saw the movie, and by chance, found the book last week. The movie was very good, starred Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton (he was a prof.). The play is of course the raw material, and is worth a read.

The whole story unfolds in the home of the couple, where another young couple (a professor and his wife) are invited to get to know each other. And they get personal, and skeletons tumble out, one by one. Of ambition, or lack of it, and extra-marital flings by the professor's wife, and a gold-digger (the younger husband).

By the way, the play has nothing to do with Virginia Woolf, the author. Just a song the characters sing.. that says, Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

This is a review of the film version of the play.

A story of a complex relationship between a couple- actually, two of them, it explores nuances of a married relationship in all its 'glory'. Love, tenderness, neurotic behavior, violence, politics of getting married to the 'right kind' of people to further careers, and more. It's all there.

The film is great to watch for the dialogue and the histrionics of the stars Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. If you expect glamour or stylized violence like today's movies from Hollywood, you will be sorely disappointed. If you want to look at human reality with all its magic and warts, you will applaud it. It is that kind of a movie. Was a play originally. For some reason, I was reminded of a play by Tennessee Williams called Cat on a Hot Tin Roof while watching it.

The second couple plays an ideal foil to the star couple, and put in a great performance as well.