The Birthday Party (1968)

A mundane seaside boarding house becomes the setting for a nightmare evening, once two strange visitors arrive, (Tafler & Magee). The landlady, Meg (Nichols), is unaware of their intentions towards her only other resident, Stanley (Shaw). Everything comes to a head during an impromptu birthday party for Stanley.

Pinter & Comedy of Menace

The film is based on Harold Pinter’s 1957 play, The Birthday Party. Harold Pinter used an absurd and purposefully confusing method of storytelling in his early plays. The story takes place in one room, the den/dining room of a low end boarding house. The only resident, Stanley, has been there for a year and has an unusual relationship with the landlady, Meg. She appears to pine over Stanley, desiring him to be interested in her.

Once Meg informs Stanley that two strange men are to stay there that night, Stanley becomes afraid and confused. Part of his confusion, adding to the deceit found throughout the film, is that the house they are in is not actually a boarding house. The men show up all the same and it quickly becomes clear that they are not there by accident. They are there for a job and that job is centered on Stanley.

Meg informs the men that she intends to throw Stanley a surprise party for his birthday and they enthusiastically agree to join. Before the party can commence the two men verbally assault Stanley just before the party commences. Revealing that they are there to collect or kill Stanley.

The birthday party becomes a setting for the two men to toy with Stanley. By the end, Stanley is left unable to speak and is escorted out of the house by the two men.

Comedy of Menace

This is all a general explanation of the events that unfold. The story, however, is not this straightforward. Pinter instead infused unusual and paradoxical dialogue, unexplained relationships and motives, & untrustworthy storytelling. All of these attributes have led many to consider The Birthday Party to be an example of Comedy of Menace.

The absurd and comical relationship between Stanley and Meg, which occasionally turns verbally violent, is coupled by the comedic interactions between Goldberg and McCann, that turn both verbally and physically violent. Any comedic interaction is either followed by a threat or has a threat waiting in the background.

Deceit. The Birthday Party is constantly misleading the viewer and creating more questions than answers. Each character is guilty of either telling lies or making the truth unclear. The relationships between the characters shift throughout the story as well. By the end, it is difficult to know what was true and real. Did the birthday party even exist?

My initial thought as the first act was unfolding, was that Stanley was actually Petey (Kelsall), Meg’s husband. As if a shift happened and we were witnessing either the two sides of her husband, or the hallucinations of a lonesome landlady. Now by the end, some of that could be true. It is too difficult to know what is reality.

The character’s backgrounds shift almost constantly. For example, Stanley recounts his piano career by saying he “played all over the world”, “all around the country”, and “played a concert once”, all in the same sitting. The two strangers, Goldberg & McCann, are revealed to be potential mobsters. As they recount stories to one another, they begin to call each other by several different names. Are they all aliases? Why have them call each other different names in the same conversation?

The entire birthday party is clouded in uncertainty. Meg is insistent that it is Stanley’s birthday, revealing that information to the two strangers. When Stanley is approached, however, he claims that his birthday is not for another month and that Meg is “mad”. Her eagerness to celebrate Stanley’s birthday also seems weird. She is almost treating him as a child, supported by her gift of a child’s toy drum as his present.

So much of the identity of the film is established by deceit and paradoxical dialogue and confrontation. The combination of comedic absurdity and thrilling intensity makes The Birthday Party a unique experience.

Camera Work

The entire story takes place in one room. The claustrophobic setting is used to help heighten the suspense and intensity. Although, that tight space also makes it challenging to create engaging scenes and sequences. One way that Friedkin uses the camera is by focusing closely on the important subjects of any given shot. This results in Friedkin placing the camera up close at times and as far away as possible at other times.

I really enjoyed the way that Friedkin closely follows subjects through the room. When the camera is following a subject closely, it makes the scene more immersive as well as makes the space feel larger. We forget at times that we have not left the room. The up close framing of subjects can be seen primarily at the beginning of the film.

Arc Shot (360 degree tracking shot)

The opening sequence also features an arc shot. So far this is the earliest example of an arc shot that I have been able to find. The camera focuses through a window as Meg prepares some fried toast and transfers it to a plate and to the serving window. The camera passes through the den and into the kitchen, while tracking the toast.

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Directed by: William Friedkin

Cinematography: Denys Coop

Original Play of the same name and Screenplay by: Harold Pinter

Editing By: Antony Gibbs

Starring: Robert Shaw, Patrick Magee, Sydney Tafler, Dandy Nichols, & Moultrie Kelsall.

Runtime: 2h 4m

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Neo Noir

Distributed by: Continental Distributing

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