Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Identikit Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 25, 2022

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of House of Psychotic Women Rarities Collection.

Kier-la Janisse has been on the busy side for Severin Films lately, what with any number of supplemental productions as well as both this latest collection and the earlier, in some ways more grandiose, All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror. In that regard, it's kind of ironic in a way that at least some "folk horror" outings tend to feature women who are perceived to be psychotic, or perhaps if not afflicted to that level, emotionally troubled, in plot devices that see "innocents" confronted with some otherworldly horror that no one else believes is real. The "psychoses" in this set are probably more overtly manifest, in that they seem to be objective (mis?)behaviors rather than how others are interpreting those (mis?)behaviors, but one way or the other this is another rather remarkable collection of films curated by Janisse that should attract some niche attention. This set is kind of a companion piece to the eponymous tome Janisse published around a decade ago, which she termed "an autobiographical topography of female neurosis in horror and exploitation films", and which is being republished in tandem with this set in an expanded version (Severin is offering a deluxe bundle featuring the book).

Muriel Spark is arguably best remembered for having written the source novella that ultimately provided Dame Maggie Smith with her first Oscar winning performance in the film adaptation, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. That somewhat odd combo platter of both sexual tension (with elements of repression and freedom) and simmering political unrest might seem to make Spark an unlikely candidate for something like The Driver's Seat, which was the original title of Spark's novella which gave rise to this film, which actually also bore that title in its European theatrical exhibition. The Driver's Seat and/or Identikit by any other name would still be a patently surreal viewing experience, and it has elements that might strike some as verging on the supernatural, or at least drugged out.

Structurally, Identikit is an intentional muddle from the get go, beginning in medias res and introducing a harridan woman named Lise (Elizabeth Taylor), who for some unknown reason wants a new dress without stain resistant fabric, and is berating some hapless saleswomen as a result. This is just the first of several baffling interchanges that Lise commandeers, but the story actually ends up ping ponging back and forth in time, deliberately skewing the "narrative" and leaving the viewer to kind of reassemble puzzle pieces that have been rearranged seemingly for no other reason than to confuse. From what I've read online, Spark's novella also engaged in something like this (as evidently did the original version of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), but Spark's version gave away a key plot point (which won't be spoiled here) somewhat earlier in than it's presented here, and, frankly, that might have been a better choice for the film adaptation as well, since it would have given the audience some kind of context or foundation on which to build everything else.

Kind of interestingly, given my above comments about the sexual tension and political unrest which suffuse The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Identikit arguably traverses somewhat the same territory, at least with regard to the political unrest angle, which literally explodes into the story in a completely unexpected way. Suffice it to say, though, that Lise really is too much of a "rhymes with witch" to care about romantic entanglements in that same way that Jean did, and in fact several vignettes in the film document her dispatching various lecherous types with either verbal jousting or in one case an actual physical escape. That said, while Lise may seem somewhat more "liberated" in a way than the ostensibly prim and proper Jean Brodie, she also suffers from some curious tendencies which only become clear (or at least clearer) in the film's totally gonzo wrap up.

Taylor's late sixties and early seventies filmography has always been somewhat eyebrow raising, especially given her then relatively recent Academy Award for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? There's a rather interesting note from Taylor to Muriel Spark on a website devoted to Spark where Taylor thanks Spark for her confidence in Taylor being able to bring Lise to the screen prior to the actual filming, but one has to wonder how Spark may have felt after having seen the finished product. Taylor is in full blown "Martha on steroids" mode here, and that makes the viewing experience generally pretty uncomfortable. Even the fact that Lise kinda sorta engineers her own comeuppance (if it can be called that) doesn't particularly absolve the character from her particular neuroses and/or psychoses.

Identikit Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Identikit is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The back cover of this release states this is the Blu-ray world premiere of the film, "restored in 4K by Cinematheque of Bologna and Severin Films". The presentation here is really lustrous virtually all of the time, and Vittorio Storaro's often stunning cinematography is afforded a real showcase with this transfer. The palette pops authoritatively throughout, with everything from the explosion of colors on the dress Lise buys for her journey to some really evocative nighttime scenes which are drenched in cobalt blues and near chiaroscuro lighting. Those dark scenes can lead to a slight diminishing of fine detail, and maybe even a passing moment or two of crush, but in the more brightly lit sequences, detail pops convincingly and some of the close-ups offer really precise looks at everything from Taylor's nascent crow's feet to lace netting on a hat that the Washbourne character wears. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Identikit Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Identikit offers DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono options in either English or Italian, with the expected outcome that no matter which language you choose, you're going to get someone who has been dubbed. In toggling back and forth between the tracks, I frankly didn't hear much if any difference between them in terms of general amplitude and mixes, though kind of interestingly there's something like a nanosecond difference between them, which is discernable if you toggle during some of the plaintive solo piano cues, where when changing from English to Italian, you can hear just a snippet of a note being repeated. All of this said, dialogue, score and occasional ambient environmental effects are all rendered without any issues of note, though there is some very faint background hiss that can be heard. Optional English subtitles are available.

Identikit Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Kier-la Janisse, Author of House of Psychotic Women (HD; 5:47) is accessible as either a standalone supplement under the Bonus Menu, or under the Play Menu as an option, which is authored to lead directly to the feature (the Play Menu also offers a Play Without Introduction option).


• Audio Commentary with TCM Underground Curator Millie de Chirico


• A Lack of Absence (HD; 22:03) is an interesting analysis of Muriel Spark and The Driver's Seat by writer and literary historian Chandra Mayor.


• The Driver's Seat Credit Sequences (HD; 4:07)


• Original SD Trailer (HD; 3:42) is presumably upscaled as it is showing as 1080 on my players.


• Recreated HD Trailer (HD; 3:38) comes with this prologue:

  The original elements for the trailer for The Driver's Seat were unavailable, due to it using alternate takes of scenes and shots not used in the film it was also impossible to recreate the trailer from the new 4K master accurately. In an effort to provide an HD option for your viewing pleasure, we have recreated the trailer as close to the official trailer as possible. A lo-res version of the official trailer is available on the disc as well.

Identikit Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is another seemingly "feminist" infused story which nonetheless might suggest that a woman taking control of her own life actually leads to her destruction, even if that is her goal. Along with Taylor, cult movie fans will get a supporting cast that includes Mona Washbourne, Ian Bannen and (in a brief cameo) Andy Warhol, which no doubt adds to this film's weird allure. Technical merits are solid and the supplements very interesting, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.