☆ ☆ ☆ ½
Wild
River (1960) – E. Kazan
Post-accident Montgomery Clift (a little
less sure of himself) is a government man working for the Tennessee Valley
Authority in the 1930s and charged with buying up properties that will be
underwater when the new dam is built.
One old matriarch on an island (played by Jo Van Fleet in old age
make-up) refuses to move (along with her family and the black folks that work
their land). Clift has a devil of a time
but finds support from Lee Remick the widowed granddaughter who has two small
kids and seeks an exit from her grief and the island. Her fiancé isn’t so keen on Clift stepping
in, but he is basically decent whereas the rest of the town is full of racist
lugheads who don’t like outsiders. All
this method acting, directed by Elia Kazan, usually involves some huffing and puffing
but Clift keeps it low key (and mainly internalized). Well-realized period piece where the “period”
feels natural and not affected.
No comments:
Post a Comment