BETWEEN THE DARKNESS AND THE DAWN
US, 1985, 100 minutes, Colour.
Elizabeth Montgomery, James Norden, Karen Grassle, Michael Goodwin, Robin Gammel, Marcia Rodd, Dorothy Maguire.
Directed by Peter Levin.
Between the Darkness and the Dawn is an interesting and emotional television movie. It was written by M. Richard Nash, best known for his play and the film version, The Rainmaker (1956 with Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster). It was directed by Peter Levin who worked with television series during the 1970s but had a breakthrough with a series of interesting telemovies during the 1980s including Washington Mistress, The Marva Collins Story and Sworn to Kill. During the 1990s he returned to directing television series.
The film focuses on the interesting experience of a middle-aged woman who went into coma as a seventeen-year-old girl and wakes up twenty years later. She has to adjust to herself, to the world which is twenty years older, to her family. There is also the danger that the awakening might not be permanent.
After Bewitched, Elizabeth Montgomery appeared in a number of very successful television movies. Her mother is played by veteran actress Dorothy Maguire.
Five years later, the film Awakenings was a bigger-budget and more dramatic presentation of a theme of people awaking from coma – with the possibility of reverting.
1. The impact of the television movie? Humanity? Illness? The strange experience of waking from coma? The effect on people around the subject? The subject herself? Audiences identifying with the characters?
2. The credibility of the plot? The situation of the ordinary American town? A transition from the 1960s to the 1980s? The musical score evoking the periods?
3. Elizabeth Montgomery as Abigail, the plausibility of this happening to the character? The memories of Abigail as a schoolgirl? Her high school boyfriend? Life in the 60s, her experiences, style? Her awakening to changes? Her mother being older, her sister being older and married? The relationship with David? The encounters with the teacher?
4. The presentation of illness, coma, the effect of coma for twenty years? The medical background? The response of Beryl, of Ellen? The waking and sleeping? The drugs? The awakening – but the permanent possibility of death?
5. Abigail, as a character, her awakening, the effect? The response of her mother? Joy, holding her? What was lost being found? Yet the possibility of having to let go? Ellen, her happiness, her fears, the past jealousies? The marriage to David? The son? The talk, the reconciliation? The memories? David and his love, his emotions, his wife and son?
6. The portrait of Abby, from seventeen to thirty-seven? A girl in mentality, adjusting to being a middle-aged woman? The medical experiences, the continued awakening? Her response to her family? Trying to make up for lost time and understanding it? The regrets? Her reaction to her mother, Ellen, David, going to the school and expecting her locker to be still there? The fears, the family party? Matthew? Best friend and regrets? The teenagers (Zombie) and learning? Jack and the talk? Her having to listen, school, updating? The background of “risky business”, astronauts etc? Computers? The affair and the effect?
7. The fear of death, her sense of being alone, her mother, Jack, the graduation?
8. The character of Jack, the small town, divorce, goals? Helping Abigail and fighting for her?
9. Themes of time, age and ageing, relationships, regrets, coping? An interesting and humane portrait of women, illness, family?
