Martha is a mean drunk. The main character in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (played by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1966 film adaptation of Edward Albee’s critically acclaimed play) spends most of her time downing drink after drink until she’s barely coherent. As a result of her deep inebriation, Martha publicly emasculates her husband George (Richard Burton) by revealing his most private insecurities — his stalled career, his terrible upbringing — to another couple they barely know. In fact, the whole movie is one long, vicious fight between a husband and wife who have had way too much to drink (not just that night but over the course of their entire marriage) and who seem to feed off each other’s suffering. Taylor won an Oscar for her performance. Burton was nominated but did not win, which is a shame because he too made a convincingly pathetic drunk.
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