The Cry of the Owl
Encyclopedia
The Cry of the Owl is a psychological thriller
novel by Patricia Highsmith
.
and moves to a small Pennsylvania
town, where he develops an obsession with the seemingly happy, 23-year old Jenny Thierolf. As a way of easing his own discontent with life, he begins spying on her through her kitchen window, and is surprised when she invites him into her life after spotting him one night. However, when her jealous ex-boyfriend becomes involved, a chain of events is set into motion that will spell death and destruction for all.
film Le Cri du hibou
from director Claude Chabrol
.
Another adaptation was given a limited released on March 12, 2010 in Los Angeles, California and released on June 8, 2010 on DVD in the United States, with director Jamie Thraves
. Paddy Considine
plays the part of Robert Forester, and Julia Stiles
is Jenny. James Gilbert
plays Greg Wyncoop. Caroline Dhavernas
plays the part of Forester's ex-wife.
This version is faithful to the novel. Forester is going through a messy divorce from Nickie. One night he is walking through his suburban neighborhood and stumbles upon the home of Jenny, who is with her boyfriend Greg Wyncoop. They look happy and the somewhat-obsessive Forester begins spying on them regularly. Jenny catches him one night, but instead of being upset, she invites him in and they talk.
This leads to Jenny dumping Greg and starting to date Forester. None of her friends can believe this, and in fact it seems an odd match. Forester is deliberately portrayed as a somewhat shabby person. Not only does Jenny try to date Forester, but she is the one who starts stalking him. She calls him late at night. She tries to sleep over at his house. She tries anything to get him to go to bed with her. Forester generally resists these overtures, and tells Jenny that he has received a promotion at work and will be moving away to Philadelphia, making any relationship between them impossible. Jenny offers to come with him to Philadelphia, but Forester declines.
In an establishing scene, Greg comes to Jenny's house and tries to attack Forester. Later, Forester is driving home on a lonely country road when he is overtaken by Greg, who stops his car and the get into a fistfight. Though Greg is younger and stronger, Forester gets in a lucky punch and knocks Greg unconscious and into a river. Forester drags Greg out of the river and leaves him on the bank, unconscious but alive. Shortly thereafter, the police question Forester because Greg is missing. The police learn that Forester stalked Jenny and that they are now together. Forester admits that they fought and that he knocked Greg in the river. The police believe that Greg is dead (though they have no body), and that Forester killed him. When his employer learns he is a murder suspect, he loses the promotion in Philadelphia and is suspended. Forester is attacked by Greg's father, who thinks Forester murdered his son.
Drifting and aimless, Forester continues his uneasy relationship with Jenny, who has become convinced that Forester may have a bad omen over him (represented by the owl of the title, which is a common symbol of coming death). Jenny goes to visit Forester's ex-wife Nickie, who says she left Forester because he seemed like bad luck. For reasons not very well explained, Jenny then commits suicide. She leaves Forester a note wishing him well and hoping that he can get out of the surreal bubble he lives in. The police assume this is further confirmation that Forester killed Greg and that Jenny somehow found out about it.
Now totally alone, Forester is befriended by the widower who lives next door to him. They talk and play chess. One night, Forester looks out the window of the widower's house and sees Greg holding a gun. Greg fires twice, seriously wounding the widower but only clipping Forester. The police do not believe Forester when he says Greg tried to kill him, but place him in protective custody anyway. The next day, the police inform Forester that Greg is alive and was picked up by the police getting on a bus to Chicago. The police bring in Nickie for questioning, and we learn that it was Forester's ex-wife who paid Greg to pretend to be dead to get Forester in trouble. She did this to hurt Forester because she loved him and was hurt that their marriage ended (and it is implied that she is psychologically unbalanced).
That night, Nickie and Greg kidnap Forester and take him to Jenny's house. Nickie tries to persuade Forester to tell the police that she had nothing to do with setting him up. Forester refuses, which enrages Greg. Making matters worse, Greg's father calls to tell him that the widower he shot has died from his wounds, making Greg a murderer. Greg attacks Forester with a knife. In the struggle, Forester manages to kill Greg and accidentally (though fatally) injure Nickie.
The final shot is of Forester looking out Jenny's window with Greg and Nickie lying dead in her kitchen.
Psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a specific sub-genre of the broad ranged thriller with heavy focus on characters. However, it often incorporates elements from the mystery and drama genre, along with the typical traits of the thriller genre...
novel by Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist and short-story writer most widely known for her psychological thrillers, which led to more than two dozen film adaptations. Her first novel, Strangers on a Train, has been adapted for stage and screen numerous times, notably by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951...
.
Plot summary
Following a messy divorce from his vindictive wife Nickie, Robert Forrester leaves New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and moves to a small Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
town, where he develops an obsession with the seemingly happy, 23-year old Jenny Thierolf. As a way of easing his own discontent with life, he begins spying on her through her kitchen window, and is surprised when she invites him into her life after spotting him one night. However, when her jealous ex-boyfriend becomes involved, a chain of events is set into motion that will spell death and destruction for all.
Characters
- Robert Forester
- Jenny Thierolf - the woman whom Robert stalks
- Greg Wyncoop - Jenny's ex-fiancee
- Nickie Jurgen - Robert's ex-wife
- Ralph Jurgen - Nickie's new husband
- Jack Nielson - a friend of Robert's
- Detective Lippenholtz
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
Highsmith's novel was the premise for the 1987 FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film Le Cri du hibou
Le Cri du hibou
The Cry of the Owl is a 1987 thriller film adapted from the 1962 novel The Cry of the Owl by Patricia Highsmith. The film was directed by French director Claude Chabrol and stars Christophe Malavoy, Mathilda May and Virginie Thévenet.-Plot:Parisian illustrator Robert becomes obsessed with a young...
from director Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol was a French film director, a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s...
.
Another adaptation was given a limited released on March 12, 2010 in Los Angeles, California and released on June 8, 2010 on DVD in the United States, with director Jamie Thraves
Jamie Thraves
Jamie Thraves is a British film writer and director.Jamie Thraves began making early short experimental films in 1989 at Hull University, having previously studied illustration . His graduation film Scratch and The Take-Out both went on to win numerous awards at short film festivals worldwide...
. Paddy Considine
Paddy Considine
Patrick George "Paddy" Considine is an English actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, musician and frequent collaborator with Shane Meadows. Best known to audiences for his portrayals of dark, troubled, morally or mentally ambiguous characters...
plays the part of Robert Forester, and Julia Stiles
Julia Stiles
Julia O'Hara Stiles is an American actress.After beginning her career in small parts in a New York City theatre troupe, she has moved on to leading roles in plays by writers as diverse as William Shakespeare and David Mamet...
is Jenny. James Gilbert
James Gilbert (actor)
James Gilbert is a Canadian film, television, and stage actor.James is best known for his role as William Brereton in the Showtime historical drama series, The Tudors. James has most recently starred in the remake of Moby Dick , along with William Hurt, Ethan Hawke and Eddie Marsan and the...
plays Greg Wyncoop. Caroline Dhavernas
Caroline Dhavernas
Caroline Dhavernas is a Canadian actress. Dhavernas is best known in the United States as "Jaye" from the short-lived television series Wonderfalls on Fox. She starred as Dr. Lily Brenner in the ABC medical drama Off the Map.-Life and career:...
plays the part of Forester's ex-wife.
This version is faithful to the novel. Forester is going through a messy divorce from Nickie. One night he is walking through his suburban neighborhood and stumbles upon the home of Jenny, who is with her boyfriend Greg Wyncoop. They look happy and the somewhat-obsessive Forester begins spying on them regularly. Jenny catches him one night, but instead of being upset, she invites him in and they talk.
This leads to Jenny dumping Greg and starting to date Forester. None of her friends can believe this, and in fact it seems an odd match. Forester is deliberately portrayed as a somewhat shabby person. Not only does Jenny try to date Forester, but she is the one who starts stalking him. She calls him late at night. She tries to sleep over at his house. She tries anything to get him to go to bed with her. Forester generally resists these overtures, and tells Jenny that he has received a promotion at work and will be moving away to Philadelphia, making any relationship between them impossible. Jenny offers to come with him to Philadelphia, but Forester declines.
In an establishing scene, Greg comes to Jenny's house and tries to attack Forester. Later, Forester is driving home on a lonely country road when he is overtaken by Greg, who stops his car and the get into a fistfight. Though Greg is younger and stronger, Forester gets in a lucky punch and knocks Greg unconscious and into a river. Forester drags Greg out of the river and leaves him on the bank, unconscious but alive. Shortly thereafter, the police question Forester because Greg is missing. The police learn that Forester stalked Jenny and that they are now together. Forester admits that they fought and that he knocked Greg in the river. The police believe that Greg is dead (though they have no body), and that Forester killed him. When his employer learns he is a murder suspect, he loses the promotion in Philadelphia and is suspended. Forester is attacked by Greg's father, who thinks Forester murdered his son.
Drifting and aimless, Forester continues his uneasy relationship with Jenny, who has become convinced that Forester may have a bad omen over him (represented by the owl of the title, which is a common symbol of coming death). Jenny goes to visit Forester's ex-wife Nickie, who says she left Forester because he seemed like bad luck. For reasons not very well explained, Jenny then commits suicide. She leaves Forester a note wishing him well and hoping that he can get out of the surreal bubble he lives in. The police assume this is further confirmation that Forester killed Greg and that Jenny somehow found out about it.
Now totally alone, Forester is befriended by the widower who lives next door to him. They talk and play chess. One night, Forester looks out the window of the widower's house and sees Greg holding a gun. Greg fires twice, seriously wounding the widower but only clipping Forester. The police do not believe Forester when he says Greg tried to kill him, but place him in protective custody anyway. The next day, the police inform Forester that Greg is alive and was picked up by the police getting on a bus to Chicago. The police bring in Nickie for questioning, and we learn that it was Forester's ex-wife who paid Greg to pretend to be dead to get Forester in trouble. She did this to hurt Forester because she loved him and was hurt that their marriage ended (and it is implied that she is psychologically unbalanced).
That night, Nickie and Greg kidnap Forester and take him to Jenny's house. Nickie tries to persuade Forester to tell the police that she had nothing to do with setting him up. Forester refuses, which enrages Greg. Making matters worse, Greg's father calls to tell him that the widower he shot has died from his wounds, making Greg a murderer. Greg attacks Forester with a knife. In the struggle, Forester manages to kill Greg and accidentally (though fatally) injure Nickie.
The final shot is of Forester looking out Jenny's window with Greg and Nickie lying dead in her kitchen.