I have a confession to make: I love Olivia de Havilland. I really do. Her Oscar win for The Heiress was way more than deserved and it's one of the best winning performances ever. Well, unlike this one.
I did not enjoy this movie at all. It was so slow and melodramatic. Melodrama is a very tricky genre, and it either amazes or annoys you. It might be only my fault, but this one was quite annoying.
It's about Miss Norris, who has an out-of-wedlock child with a pilot who dies in France. In order to avoid shame, she decides to give her child away (well, not exactly, it's more complicated). Anyway, the child is adopted and she's left alone. In WWII she meets her son again and you can imagine everything else.
This movie lacks a good screenplay and great actors (except for Olivia of course). It's very slow and sometimes quite boring. And I really can't say anything about the film itself. It seems to me as if I hadn't even seen it.
Olivia is good of course and much better than the actresses winning Oscars nowadays. Her performance was flawless, but it did not amaze me and there was no emotional connection between me and Olivia. Simply I did not root for the character. I think Celia Johnson should have won the Oscar for her heartbreakingly beautiful work in Brief Encounter.
My grade: 6.5/10 I just simply couldn't say anything about this movie.
Nominations: Best Actress (Olivia de Havilland, WON), Best Screenplay
My wins: None; But I'm happy that Olivia has two Oscars.
P.S.: I also saw The Song of Bernadette three days ago, Jennifer Jones was very worthy, but I still have to meditate over the Best Supporting Actress category.
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