‘People live here?’ Roberta cries incredulously when entering Dez’s loft apartment for the first time. He lives the bohemian life Roberta craves, amongst the scruffy romance of Chinatown, with flashing neon sign reflected in puddles, entering buildings via metal fire escapes, surrounded by neighbours who play saxophones at their windows.
A projectionist in a fleapit cinema, who somehow lives in a stylishly tatty apartment with a view of the Empire State building, he is the total opposite to her uptight husband Gary. There is a more generic love interest in the film, as Roberta builds a connection with Dez (Aidan Quinn). Their curious pursuit of each other is one of mutual respect. Her remark when reading Roberta’s secret diary that ‘nobody’s life could be this boring’ displays her playful interest in her. But there is a spark of connection between the two women, and Susan is intrigued by Roberta too.
#DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN FREE#
She is a free spirit and lives out of a suitcase. Madonna oozes cool confidence as the almost mythical Susan. This is the ultimate girl-crush, but her obsession is fuelled by both envy and admiration. Watching her every move, assuming each nuance into her own performance later as ‘Susan’. There is obsession at play too, as Roberta follows Susan, first through the personals, and then around the city.
The precarious world Susan inhabits seems thrilling to Roberta. Susan has the sense of independence, confidence, and control over her own life that Roberta craves. I love that word, it’s so romantic” says Roberta when she sees Jim’s latest message.įor Roberta, Susan is a means of seeing the world differently. Their unconventional love affair gives her a thrill, “Desperate. Lonely and frustrated, Roberta develops a fascination with two strangers, Susan and Jim, who communicate with each other through the newspaper personal ads. But she has only been married for four years and is still young, she is not tied down by the responsibilities of children, so what is to stop her leaving her suburban prison, except perhaps her own insecurities? Her husband Gary (Mark Blum), a social-climbing New Jersey hot tub salesman, barely notices her. She wants for nothing but craves the one thing she has not got – fulfilment.īut Roberta feels trapped by her circumstances. She lives in a financially comfortable suburban bubble. Roberta Glass is a bored New Jersey housewife. It is a film about female fantasy, but the dream is not about finding the perfect man, it is about self-identity, having the confidence to be who you want to be, and taking control of your own destiny. The story centres on two female characters. Along with director Seidelman, the lead writer and producer were also female, Leora Barish and Sarah Pillsbury respectively.
#DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN SERIES#
Directed by Susan Seidelman, the film stars Rosanna Arquette as Roberta, a bored New Jersey housewife who inadvertently becomes mixed up in a series of adventures due to a knock on the head and a bout of memory loss, which leads her to be mistaken for the free-spirited Susan (Madonna), the woman Roberta, and everyone else, wants to find. ‘Desperately Seeking Susan’ (1985), the stylish screwball comedy with a very 1980s aesthetic, was released 35 years ago. But few of them combine that journey of self-discovery with a high-energy crime caper, amnesia, and two women inextricably linked to each other through a curious case of mistaken identity.
There have been other explorations of the topic too, often focussing on the personal and emotional development of the character. The work of director Douglas Sirk for example, explored the repressed emotions and sexuality of American housewives stranded in 1950s American suburbia.
There have been many films which have focussed on the frustrations of a lonely housewife.
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