Was she going back to high school, or about to start college?
I assumed she was about to start college, as there was mention of a scholarship and a reading list, but Susan Strasberg's tomboy scenes came off as so juvenile that she often seemed much younger.
Well, why don't we call it "research" or something?
I believe she was going to start her last year in high school...
Betty: Don't you sometimes hate yourself?
Joe: Constantly.
Yes, I also think she was beginning her senior year in high school at the end of the picture.
shareThe day after the picnic Millie's dressed and sitting on the porch.Two of the high school teachers come by to pick-up Miss Rosemary and one of them asks Millie if she's all set for school again.
In the text of his play, William Inge describes Millie as "a wiry kid of sixteen, boisterous and assertive, but likeable when one begins to understand that she is trying to disguise her basic shyness."
shareI was confused about Millie's age too, because of what her mother said to Madge early in the movie. She talked about how Madge's father carried her on his shoulders, and the implication was that he was around long enough for Madge to remember him, but Millie had no memory of her dad. If Madge is 19 and Millie is 16, does that work? Would a three-year-old remember her father? My parents divorced when I was three, and I have NO memory of my dad.
So all through the movie, I'm thinking Millie is 14 or 15 at the most, which would give Madge 4 or 5 years with her dad. And I'm wondering why a 14-year-old already has a college scholarship.
Millie's behavior made her seem much younger than 16 or 17. Compensating for her shyness -- that makes sense. But none of the shy girls I knew would have behaved like Millie did with Boomer.
It does work if Madge is 19 and Millie is 16. Let's say that the dad left when Madge was 6 and Millie was 3. Madge should have some memories of her father, but Millie probably wouldn't. You said yourself you don't remember your dad, and you were 3 when he left.
I need my 1987 DG20 Casio electric guitar set to mandolin, yeah...
You're right. It does work.
shareMillie's age would've been more confusing if you'd seen the original Broadway production. Kim Stanley played Millie, and she was 27-28 years old. I've seen stills from the play and Ms. Stanley did NOT look anything like 16 or 17.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."