The Killing of Sister George (Robert Aldrich, 1968)

Lawd, this was difficult to get through! It reminded me of the most overrated film of all time - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966). Why do the characters in both films act as if they've been stricken with hebephrenia? I know Susannah York's Childie is supposed to be an adult baby (of sorts) but what's the excuse for the other characters? As with Woolf, why do they sound like Martians trying out English for the first time? Was it a function of transferring plays to film? Was this considered great acting then (and now?)? As with Prêt-à-Porter and Gosford Park, I see no huge qualitative differences between the two films. I also can't see Aldrich, the fine stylist of Kiss Me Deadly and Ulzana's Raid, in this at all. Help?
Grade: a tentative B-minus