The Turning Point

One of a cycle of '70s post-Women's Liberation "women's pictures," Herbert Ross's drama uses the ballet world to examine the conflict between family and career. Former dance colleagues Deedee (Shirley MacLaine) and Emma (Anne Bancroft) are reunited when Emma's New York ballet company stops in ...more

Greatly acclaimed upon its initial release (and scoring an amazing eleven Academy Award nominations), time has dulled much of the appeal of The Turning Point. The melodramatic aspects of the plot, slightly commented upon but generally dismissed in 1977, are the main culprits, but much of writer Arthur Laurents' dialogue is also to blame. It's a bit too obvious in the big scenes, and it sometimes seems to be trying too hard to present its feminist credentials. That said, the script does allow two ...more