Instant Favorite.

Disturbing yet enthralling

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Elizabeth Taylor is just amazing. She goes for this superficial, primitive bitch with every weapon in her arsenal. Her Zee is like Martha's - Taylor's character in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf - disgraceful twin. The one who probably never read anything, dropped out of school. She was probably disowned by her intellectual father and she went all out. Her performance is free of any literary constrictions - I mean this is not by Edward Albee - she can jump and roll at her own speed, at her own volume. Michael Caine feels like a pussycat next to her and Susannah York? She makes sense in a rather senseless character. An added charm is the appearance of the spectacular Margaret Leighton.

I was very excited to watch X,Y, and Zee, since I absolutely love Michael Caine and the plot synopsis made me think Elizabeth Taylor would shine in a villainous role. I'll cut to the chase: this is a fantastic movie. But it wasn't at all what I was led to believe.According to IMDb, Liz plays a "venomous and amoral" woman who "tries, any way she can, to break up the blossoming romance" between Michael Caine and Susannah York. That sounds fun, but that isn't the story. Liz and Michael are a happy, sexy married couple, but for no reason exposed at the time, Michael hits heavily on Susannah at a party. He tells her he wants to have an affair with her, and Liz can smell trouble from across the room, so she strikes up a conversation with the soon-to-be other woman and tries to stress how happy their marriage is. It doesn't work, and soon Michael and Susannah have an affair.Here's where it gets fascinating. There's much more than a love triangle in this movie. It's a movie about two couples: Michael and Liz, and Michael and Susannah. At first, the dynamics seem completely different. With Liz, there's fighting, quips, screams, violence, and drama. With Susannah, there's quiet, calm, and domesticity. As the movie continues, the black and white blends into intriguing grays. Susannah starts to show the promise of drama; Liz shows her deeper love and desire for a quiet family life. The realism makes you cringe. It's almost embarrassing to watch because you feel like you're intruding on their lives.And the most interesting part of the story? Liz knows her husband has a mistress. He comes and goes as he pleases, and although a divorce is not threatened or promised, no one seems to ask the question, "Why can't you choose?" He doesn't leave his wife; he just inserts another woman into the picture. This gives Liz hope. This is her motivation. Whatever she does to try and get him back is motivated by intense love. It's beautiful and sad, and it makes you question how far you'd go to keep the love of your life.By the way, I didn't give any spoilers. Everything I described is shown to the audience during the first 20-30 minutes of the movie, so don't worry. X,Y, and Zee is the type of movie that makes you want to talk about it afterwards. I loved it. I loved how it made me think about the characters, the questions it posed, and the unexpected sympathies it drew. And earning great respect in my book, the movie shies away from nudity or sex scenes, but it's incredibly steamy. Put the kids to bed and watch this one with your honeybun. It'll be a lot of fun!

For anyone who ever hankered to see what a collaboration between the novelist Edna O'Brien and the director of 'Where Eagles Dare' would have looked like, look no further! After two war movies in a row, Brian G. Hutton obviously felt the need to try his hand at something a bit more dangerous; and Elizabeth Taylor in all her big-haired, loud-mouthed and even more loudly dressed glory dominates this delirious spectacle in a way little seen since the heyday of Bette Davis.Taylor and Caine give their all as a self-absorbed pair who make George & Martha from 'Virginia Woolf' look like The Brady Bunch. In reality Caine would probably have abandoned or murdered Taylor long ago; but she's entertaining to watch and listen to at least for the duration of the movie, and shows a delightful flair for mimicry mocking some of her co-stars. (I thought she jumped the shark, however, with her suicide attempt.)Susannah York understandably seems more than a little overwhelmed by the madhouse she's wandered into. A few spoilsports have already revealed the twist at the end of this tale. As a bloke I was as surprised and delighted as I was relieved that a woman wrote it; so it absolved me of feeling guilty at being served up with one of my favourite male fantasies about two women.Whatever happened to these three after the closing credits is anybody's guess; but the audience I watched it with at the Barbican tonight laughed appreciatively all the way through and gave it an enthusiastic round of applause as the lights went up.

"X, Y & Zee" is a timepiece from that awkward, transitional period in Elizabeth Taylor's career when her legendary Hollywood glamour began to give way to a more earthy blowsiness. Unfortunately, her film choices during this phase suggest a disinterest in doing any actual acting and more of a penchant for taking on roles that suited her personal needs (exotic locations, proximity to husband and family, size of paycheck, etc.)If the title "X, Y & Zee" suggests a love triangle, then you'll know all there is to know about this colorful but airless game of sexual one-upmanship where the clothes and decor are more interesting than the people inhabiting them. Two years later Hal Ashby's "Shampoo" would skewer these amoral, directionless types more entertainingly.Perhaps thinking she had a mod, swinging London update of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" on her hands, Taylor as Zee once again allows herself to be cast as the braying, shrill harpy to a weak, watery-eyed husband (the always charming Michael Caine). Taylor and Caine have one of those functional dysfunctional marriages that are probably an accurate representation of what comprise many so-called happy marriages. Regrettably neither performer is able to make me believe that they were ever a couple in the first place. They just don't fit. That wounded hound dog Richard Burton would have been much better.Anyhow, things get shaken up pretty quickly once Caine sets eyes on pretty, husky-voiced boutique owner, Susannah York and starts romancing her right under Taylor's heavily made-up nose.As the trio uncomfortably navigate the decidedly choppy waters of love and sex, the film struggles mightily to be bitchy and witty and NOW but never heats up much and has nothing up its sleeve but a pretty nice final act (it probably was a good deal more daring back in 1972). York, as always is an exceptionally interesting actress, but her character sometimes makes even less sense than Taylor's and Caine's. For me, the single most fascinating element of the film was Susannah York's shag haircut. What a weird hairstyle. Glistening, shining, intricately layered and geometrically perfect, it is the one image that has stayed with me long after the film had ended.