PlatinumScreen says >The movie was almost too subtle in its storytelling approach.
I agree with what you say about the subtlety of the movie. It was so subtle I got to the end and wondered what was the point of that? When I thought about it afterward I kind of got it, I think; though I'm still not really sure.
It is basically just showing a good woman's eyes being gradually and slowly opened to the fact that her husband is a no good scoundrel and never will be decent, so she has to find a new way of life.
This makes a lot of sense. I can see now why people say the movie is about Georgette. I can buy that though I think that point would have been better made if the story was told from her perspective. Yes, we see how the things that happen to him and the choices he makes impact her life but we see how they affect his life more.
Besides, I don't see what she saw later that she shouldn't already have known. He had been incarcerated and was a hot head on probation. Chances are he was on a path to going back to prison.
According to Henry, Georgette didn't respond to his letter and didn't even let him know she was coming; just shows up. I don't know if it's what the director intends but she seems kind of cold towards him; not on the level of the old lady but not unlike it either. She gets a job to help him toward his dream of being a big music star but she doesn't seem as supportive in other ways. I feel she's also quick to give up on him.
her husband is a no good scoundrel and never will be decent.
I don't know if this character is doomed, he probably is, but if he's doomed, he was doomed from the start; when he was a child. The sad thing is too many kids never have a chance and the person who could most help does further damage. That's the irony of the old lady telling him he's bad and worthless when she's the evil one who has contributed to what he's become. I want to believe there's still a glimmer or hope for him. Though rare, we see glimpses of tenderness with his wife and child. It's not enough but it is a foundation to build on.
she has to find a new way of life... I hope she finds it with Slim.
They drive off together, I'm thinking he'll drop her off at the bus or train but they keep going. I assume that means she's now taken up with Slim. That's a ridiculous ending in my opinion. According to her story, she hooked up with Henry on a whim for the wrong reason and now she's doing it again. She's still married to Henry and has a child. I'd think she'd take a minute to consider the impact of the decisions she make. Her track record isn't very good.
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PlatinumScreen
9 years ago
mdonin, thank you for a well-written, thoughtful post. You raise many superb points especially about Henry being doomed from forces beyond his control and his glimpses of tenderness. It's easy to see him as one-dimensional when actually he's not.
Posts like yours are what these boards are all about--true discussion about film.
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mdonln
9 years ago
Thanks PlatinumScreen, how kind of you to say. It means a lot coming from someone who seems like-minded in the interest to discuss film. I hope to find we’ll share other movies in common!
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zuzupetal_99
9 years ago
I didn't think Georgette was cold or unsupportive - I got the feeling that it was just awkward between her & Henry, because they hadn't seen each other in several years. And so much had changed in those years - they were probably kids when they got together, and now Henry has done hard time and Georgette has been raising a child by herself. I thought she was quick to support him and try to send him to CA to chase his dream, after she & their daughter just got there. I never felt like she gave up on him - she was there through a lot with him in just a short time, but after he's going back to prison, there's really nothing else for her to do, but take her child and make a life somewhere. If I were her, I think I would've flipped out, realizing how many years I'd wasted waiting for somebody who in the end, couldn't live up to the little dream she had of making a home & family there in that shack.
I was rooting for her & Slim, honestly, but I didn't see that happening in the ending. I think Georgette grew up and faced reality, and continued on to the Valley and made a brand new life there. It would be too hard for her to stay in Henry's little hometown and try to move on or even to wait for him again.
I loved Margaret Rose - she really was lovely and natural and child-like, very much unlike kids in movies today. I wondered how old she was, since they kept referring to her as "the baby".....reminded me of I Love Lucy, they called little Ricky the baby too, when he was a little boy!
This is the only other movie I've seen of Lee Remick, besides Anatomy of a Murder, and she was great in both. She seemed really genuine and kind and sweet in this movie, and I really liked her.
Agree on Steve McQueen - love him in movies usually, but the lip-synching scenes were pretty cringe-worthy.
"Are you going to your grave with unlived lives in your veins?" ~ The Good Girl
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ellie246
8 years ago
Please see Days of Wine & Roses, it's not an easy watch, but Lee Remick's performance should have got her an Oscar.
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zuzupetal_99
8 years ago
Thanks - will definetly seek that movie out!
Are you going to your grave with unlived lives in your veins? ~ The Good Girl
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