Plot Intro
Theatre director Bernie Dodd (William Holden) insists on employing down-on-his-luck actor Frank Elgin (Bing Crosby) for his new musical, despite resistance from other producers. Bernie works hard to persuade Frank to join the production but as rehearsals get underway, he gradually gets to know Frank and his wife Georgie (Grace Kelly) more and more, and realises that various past traumas and mental health problems are rife within the marriage.
While the name of Audrey Hepburn evokes fashion and glamour, and the name of Bette Davis evokes drama and exuberance, the name of Grace Kelly evokes a sense of opulence and grandeur, and not solely because she eventually became European royalty. Throughout her (comparatively short) film career, her statuesque figure and elegant acting style made her an icon of 1950s fashion. Her legacy for this remains, as shown by this very film being quoted (amongst others) in Mika’s 2007 hit single, Grace Kelly.
Interestingly, Grace Kelly’s only Oscar win is probably not a quintessential example of her work. She was one of the most enduring “Hitchcock blondes” (blonde-headed actresses whom Alfred Hitchcock liked to employ as leads, others being Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren, Eva Marie Saint and Kim Novak), and was more closely associated with high society/royal characters.
Here, she is as dowdy and miserable as they come. The Country Girl is essentially a film about recovering from trauma, and how a lack of a supportive base and healthy therapeutic coping techniques can lead to far worse consequences. In the case of Frank and Georgie, the death of their young son (a tragic accident that Frank blames himself for) has led to Frank’s alcoholism, depression and, most significantly, compulsive lying. Behind Georgie’s back, he often claims that it is she who is struggling to cope with life, that it is she who needs him to not have a career so that he can care for her, and it is she who drinks and hides from the world. In actual fact, this is all him. The film’s strength lies in the audience discovering all of this gradually through the eyes of Bernie, who initially sympathises with Frank and vilifies Georgie, but soon realises he has got it all wrong. True, Frank’s claims about Georgie’s behaviour feel insincere and not completely in keeping with what we see of her, but it is believable that Bernie should be taken in by his lies, especially when we look at the film through a feminist lens and see how society considers that the woman should be the “hysterical” one and it’s just not possible for a man to have a complete mental breakdown.
I can also see why Grace got her (only) Best Actress nomination and win for this. As I said, she’s playing very much against type. She is styled in a way that evokes exhaustion and constant discontent with her life and husband, as well as a desperate desire to help him, and a miserable resignation to the fact that she probably cannot. The poise and self-assurance that Grace usually possesses in films such as Rear Window and High Society is gone in place of a more hunched, disgruntled, bone-weary demeanour.
But the major downside to The Country Girl is that its story is so melodramatic and, in the last 45 minutes, downright bonkers, that its themes of alcoholism and trauma get lost amidst the “DUM DUM-DUUUUUM” moments. The flashback sequence where we discover the circumstances of Frank and Georgie’s son’s death (he was hit by a car whilst Frank was having his picture taken for a newspaper) is edited like something out of a soap opera. Doug and I laughed rather than gasped, and I think it would have been infinitely better to have a character explain what happened rather than show it. Meanwhile, there is a plot development within the second hour that elicited the biggest “WTF” reaction from both of us since we started blogging (see my lowlight below for more details).
This can happen with films of this era. Whilst some tackle social issues with realism and sensitivity (see The Lost Weekend and The Best Years of Our Lives), we also get the likes of Gentleman’s Agreement and Johnny Belinda where themes such as anti-semitism and sexual abuse are evidently thrown in because they’re dramatic and sell tickets.
So The Country Girl is certainly not the most quintessential Grace Kelly film, nor is it her best, although she does well with a slightly turgid script. I would recommend any of her Hitchcock collaborations or High Society to get a real sense of who she was and why she was so popular. She’s also in one of the most high-regarded and unusual films ever made, High Noon, although that’s more of a Gary Cooper vehicle (I urge you to watch it though).
Remarkably for someone so well known, Grace was only in eleven films between 1951 and 1956. In 1955, at the Cannes Film Festival, she ended up doing a photo session with none other than Prince Rainier III of Monaco. The two married a year later and it was a Charles-and-Diana-style event in terms of the worldwide media frenzy it elicited. It was watched by 30 million people live, and 36 seamstresses worked for 6 weeks on Grace’s dress. Grace also gained a whopping 142 titles.
Naturally, she retired from acting (I mean, wouldn’t YOU?) and threw herself into princessy things like diplomacy and charity work and raising three children. Famously, Grace died at the age of 52 in 1982 when she had a stroke whilst driving along a mountainside and the car went over the edge (she drives along the very same road during her film To Catch A Thief). Miraculously, her seventeen-year-old daughter was in the car too, and survived. Prince Rainier never remarried and died in 2005, one of the longest-reigning European monarchs of all time.
The gradual set-up and discovery of the true nature of Frank and Georgie’s relationship through outsider Bernie’s eyes is a great way to frame the drama- and may have toyed with 1950s audiences’ gendered preconceptions.
The final half of the film descends into melodrama, almost demeaning the underlying themes (themes which remain relevant to this day).
Luckily Paul has written a lengthy review of this because, dear reader, I must confess that I’m writing this over a year after watching it. That’s right, we got slightly distracted by other things (eg getting married etc etc). And I’m flat out refusing to watch it again because I remember very little except that I didn’t really enjoy it.
What I do remember is that this is the film that Grace Kelly Does Dowdy. Except, much like Dolly Parton in Christmas On The Square, Kelly finds it physically impossible to go dowdy. So we’re left with a weirdly glam Kelly wearing some thick-rimmed glasses. Cynics might say it’s Oscar bait to ‘play plain’ (remember Mariah Carey getting a lot of buzz for Precious?) but reader - it works. Kelly won.
This film felt oddly unfinished to me, I remember the ending feeling thoroughly confusing and undeserved, with sharp plot turn-abouts and frankly bad writing. Kelly does well throughout - you can see she’s working hard to look worn out and miserable, and the film does pull off its clever trick well - as a viewer you suddenly realise you’ve been believing him, when it’s actually her who’s in the right.
But as a whole, this was a weaker instalment in this project and as I say - it feels like Oscar bait with a starry cast playing against type in a pretty shoddily written piece. Perhaps the memories from a year ago aren’t very kind, but oh well. Sue me.
Watching Grace Kelly is always a treat, and I will give her props for throwing herself into playing a very different role.
This beat Judy Garland in A Star Is Born? Really? No.
Mark
4/10
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