Rating: 3.5/5
Written by horror regular Richard Matheson, the movie begins with visions of a house on fire. We then see Miriam (Karen Black) and her husband, Greg (George Hamilton), on their way to a funeral. They walk down the aisle to the casket, Miriam desperate to turn around. The walk takes ages and ages before Miriam sees Greg is not Greg. He walks over to open the casket, and Miriam sees herself in it
After Miriam wakes up from this nightmare — she feels out of sorts. She tells her husband in no uncertain terms that she thinks the dream is about her feelings regarding being a housewife
I think it means I'm dying inside
When left to her own, Miriam finds herself taking trips that she only vaguely notices — to the mall, where she buys a red blouse and a blonde wig
it's you, honey — it's really you
Then, she drives to the beach, where she rents a house with her own money, and to a bar, where everyone swears she looks just like their old friend Sandy
The film carries more twists and turns as it goes, but never to a play outside the logic of the narrative
You can read the film as a queer/trans allegory — Miriam feels like she isn’t herself, and if she stays who she is, she will die. She begins a slow transition, trying it out on her husband but feeling shame and fear when he isn’t on board
it just isn't you
Nevertheless, everything inside her tells her that she must change, and each one feels more natural as if she is remembering who she is supposed to be
I love Karen Black, and I hate how difficult it has been to find her movies. Several of them are made-for-tv movies, including this one, but they are still pretty great