Marty

Year: 1955

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Mann

Review

a charming little picture. it was actually a surprising picture in that it wasn’t your typical hollywood love story. going into the picture i thought it was going to be your basic “lovable loser gets the girl” type of picture. in its broadest stroke it is that kind of picture, but the finer strokes were somewhat surprising. the film, as manifested in marty’s friends, was more crass than i would have expected; marty’s mother and family were far less supportive of his finally finding love interest than one would expect from a “feel good” movie; the film’s pacing was far slower than expected; and the ending, though upbeat, didn’t exactly ring of “happily ever after” and wedding bells. from a story point of view the film was compelling for its ability to establish each character as a vector acting upon marty. at the beginning everyone in the film is pushing on him from the same direction, towards the same direction. by the end of the film all the characters have changed their positions and are pushing marty in almost the exact opposite direction. within this interplay of characters comes some interesting commentary, or at least exploration, of family affairs and dynamics. by the end of the film marty sheds the urging of his friends and family and strikes out a path of his own. like i said before, we are left happy, but the ending isn’t conclusive in its outcome. rather than a marriage proposal or something equally dramatic, marty merely decides to continue dating a girl he’s only seen once before. it’s hardly a stirring development in most films (or in everyday life for that matter), but because doing this is contrary to everything that has preceded, it becomes the most important moment in the film. it’s a solid, low concept film that focuses on character development and interaction to create a touching and entertaining picture.