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Title: Kazan falters
Review: Natalie Wood is a fresh, young and attractive actress who is reasonably effective in the lead role, but the film left me dissatisfied on several counts. First, it does not convey anything of the mentality of the American mid-west in the 1920s, when it is set. You can buy the wardrobe and the old cars; that's not enough. This film was made in the 1960s and reeks of the 60s. Secondly, the story is paper thin: girl and boy, in love at school, cannot sexually consummate the relationship because of family and social mores; girl goes off her head and boy marries someone else. It is neither splendid nor green -- but worn and arid. The story meanders through its telling; a key character -- Bud's sister -- brings it to life briefly, then she suddenly disappears out of the plot, as aimlessly as she entered. Elia Kazan has made some great films, with well-focused ideas. Not this one.
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