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Fine acting, boring story
I found the acting and directing excellent, but the storyline itself was quite repetitious and increasingly boring. Despite having a main fascinating character--who seemed to border on mental illness--there wasn't enough plot development to sustain my interest and develop sympathy for that character.
[Wednesday, October 08, 2008]
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"A Member-able Experience"
Pre-teenage angst at its best. For anyone, like myself that was a bit tomboy-ish and had major hero worship for an older brother, this story and movie hit awfully close to home. Julie Harris deserves at least three Oscars for her performance as does Ethyl Waters. If you are mesmerized by Deep-Southy in the fifties this will do it for you. This is a great, great movie made from filming the original stage players at their work. I hope it will soon be on an affordable DVD so I can watch it again and again and again. Oh, and by the way, I was not a member of the wedding of my brother, but he did ask me to serve the cake.
[Sunday, September 14, 2008]
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"They are the we of me"
"The Member of the Wedding" is based on the brilliant book (and later play) by Carson McCullers. The stage play starred the same cast in the three main roles - Julie Harris (Frankie), Ethel Waters (Bernice), and Brandon de Wilde (John Henry). Frankie is a 12-year-old southern girl who is misunderstood by her peers and somewhat ignored by her business-owner widowed father. She spends her days idling with her 6-year-old cousin, John Henry, and the family cook, Bernice. Frankie is starting to experience the kind of alienation common in young girls; she idealizes everything and her attempts to feel special are thwarted by reality. When her older brother (Jarvis) returns from the military and announces his upcoming wedding, Frankie goes moony and plans on running away with Jarvis and his fiancé. She's finally found a way of making herself part of a "we." All she really wants is a place to belong; however, that's going to be tricky.
Keeping the same Broadway cast for a movie was somewhat unusual at the time - even the classic "Streetcar Named Desire" booted Jessica Tandy in favor of Vivian Leigh. Ethel Waters and Brandon de Wilde come across beautifully with finely nuanced performances. Julie Harris' performance, on the other hand, is extremely "theatrical." Obviously, stage performances do not always translate to film, which emphasizes close-ups and increased intimacy. Furthermore, Harris was 25 years old and looks not a day under 30, and she just isn't believable as a young girl. Nevertheless, she was nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award, losing to another stage actress, Shirley Booth.
Eventually, the elements come together to form a fine film. In particular, the direction (Fred Zinnemann) and amazing writing shine through nicely. Overall, "The Member of the Wedding" is a solid and enjoyable coming of age story. I just wish that I believed that Frankie was truly "coming of age" and not headed toward middle-age.
[Sunday, July 29, 2007]
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