ABSTRACT
The highly acclaimed Woody Allen film The Purple Rose of Cairo opens with a drab, sweetly innocent young woman, Cecilia, sitting expectantly in a dark movie theater. She is entranced with the screen images of a dashing young adventurer, the film character Tom Baxter, a larger than life, handsome explorer. He portrays all the charm, manners, and caring tenderness that would appeal to any woman, particularly to one abused by her husband. Cecilia herself is trapped in a bleak, loveless marriage to a brutish man who offers little hope of any romance, passion, or excitement. Instead, she avidly awaits the weekly Saturday film at the local movie theater to introduce some hope and illusion into the pervasive dreariness of her life.
