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janeeward
Reviews
Portrait of Jennie (1948)
Probably the most romantic tragedy I have ever seen
I am not a Romance Movie fan, but sometimes one or two sneak in. When Harry Met Sally, An Affair to Remember, and Casablanca. To name a few.
Portrait of Jennie is tied with Am Affair to Remember as my top two. The creativity of aging Jennifer Jones from a child to a femme fatale is masterful, but it is the on-screen chemistry Jones and Cotton have that makes it so powerful He is tragic, and no one does angst like him. I guess it was how his face normally looked, but you could read the despair in his eyes. And, to make it better, the naivete, optimism and natural positivity of spirit in Jones' eyes make her 'ghostly' appearance even more believable. You can't tell a story so unrealistic - more that improbable! - without having actors who can make you believe them. Both Cotton and Jones win at that, hands down.
I am not a fan of romance and find Shakespeare's tragedies (i.e. Romeo and Juliet) more guilty of trying too hard than characters to whom you can relate. Cotton's character, Eben does not believe in the supernatural, and finds himself coming to believe that the little girl he met is aging so rapidly, begging him to wait for her, until she finally reaches his age, only to have the romance they both were starving for, to be snatched away so cruelly.
Was she real? Did it all happen, or was he delusional? You decide.
I dare your heart not to cry.