Wild River Raul, I'm glad you connected to the film, I thought it was pretty special myself.
I must admit I wasn't so sure whether or not Montgomery Clift would completely win me over with his performance, but by the time the movie was half over I knew the right casting decision was made. I was initially worried about him in a lead role as it seems he plays a "sidekick" role much better.
I know what you mean, I really like him as an actor but at first I wasn't sure if he would be good as the leading man. But his quiet, inner turmoil really reflected the hard decision he had to make. Literally the conflict of the plot can be seen on his face.
Van Fleet as the grandma was a very genuine performance. It was rather heartbreaking to see her by her husband's and her future grave, talking about how she needed to hang onto her place.
I liked her much better here than in
East of Eden,
(she was good there too). Usually characters are either really bad and you hate them, or good and you cheer for them, but she was both! and had a real duality to her. That's rare for characters to have. Gene Hackman in the Unforgiven has the same duality.
And Lee Remick is an actress that continues to be of interest for me. Her best scene was when she was telling Chuck that he would make a good husband and that her kids wanted him to stay around. I felt she definitely got lost in her role and became her character. She was probably my favorite of the three.
Lee said this was her favorite movie. Have you seen her in
Days of Wine and Roses?
Thank you for picking this one Citizen, certainly a rather powerful film with a powerful ending too.
Thank you and Sean for letting me join in