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Film: Bunny Lake is Missing
Year: 1965
Director: Otto Preminger
Writer: John Mortimer and Penelope Mortimer
Starring: Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley and Laurence Olivier
Review:
In this film we have a family moving over to England. There is a brother and sister, with the brother being played by Keir Dullea and the sister by Carol Lynley. Lynley also has a little girl who has the name Bunny Lake. Dullea is a newspaper reporter who is over there to write a piece and shortly will be leaving for a conference in Switzerland.
Lynley drops her daughter off at school, but was running late and can’t find anyone to watch her. She finds the cook who is an odd woman. She interrupts and somewhat rude to her for most of their interaction. In the end, the cook agrees to watch her daughter until the recess ends and the teacher can take over.
Lynley goes home and begins to unpack. We see her remove daughter’s toys and clothes as she does. Lynley is also bothered during this by her crazy landlord who hits on her, but she ignores the advances. She leaves and he follows her out as she goes to the store.
Later in the day, Lynley comes to pick up her daughter after school, but no one has seen her. She searches the building and begins to freak out. The teacher stated she never came to the class and panic sets in. The police are called and the search begins, headed by Laurence Olivier.
With no record of her being there or enrolled in school and no witnesses to the girl besides Lynley and Dullea, the plot thickens. Is Bunny Lake real or is she a figment of Lynley’s imagination? Lynley goes about trying to prove that she has a daughter.
This film is excellent. It has a great story and is quite spooky as well. We don’t see the little girl which adds to whether or not she is real. We see clothes for a couple minutes then they all vanish. The music is creepy as well and it adds to the atmosphere that is created. Director Otto Preminger did a great job on building the psychology tension of the film.
This film also culminates with one of the best incestuous and crazy sequences to end this film. Discovering the truth of what is really happening is interesting and enjoyable.
I would recommend this film if you like thrillers. This is paced well and builds great tension. The ending culminates everything in the film and doesn’t disappoint.
My Rating: 7 out of 10