This is the kind of epic that makes you realize how wonderful GONE WITH THE WIND was by comparison. Dull characters are defeated by a dull script. It's better than taking a tranquilizer to put you to sleep.<br /><br />A long, lumbering, disorganized tale that takes so long in getting to the heart of the story that it's very likely you'll tune out before the story begins. Nothing helps. Not the costumes, the scenery, the pallid performances--the wooden behavior of Montgomery Clift--the syrupy Southern accent affected by Elizabeth Taylor--the pale performance of Eva Marie Saint. Only Nigel Patrick and Rod Taylor bring what little life the story has to realization. They all seem to be trying but nothing works and it remains strangely uninvolving.<br /><br />Taylor's role is so buried in whatever torment she's supposed to feel with regard to her past, that it becomes annoyingly clear that we're never going to know the truth about her character until the very end of the story. And that end takes an excessively long time in coming without providing enough interesting plot ideas to keep one interested or even caring about the fate of these colorless characters.<br /><br />An awful bore--so bad that the only compliment I can give the film is its rich musical score by Johnny Green and the title tune which is sung by Nat King Cole with an attractive choral arrangement as backup. Sadly, it can't compensate for the film's many drawbacks.<br /><br />A total waste of time and talent. Montgomery Clift's accident may have contributed to his lifeless performance but his role, as written, is no help and his character is an insufferable bore. Miss Taylor is no Scarlett O'Hara and Eva Marie Saint makes no impression whatsoever.