Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Best Actress 1969: Jean Simmons in The Happy Ending



Jean Simmons received her second Oscar nomination for playing Mary Wilson in The Happy Ending. Mary and her husband Fred appear to be happy, but she is an alcoholic and is suffocated by being a housewife. On their 16th anniversary, she runs away to spend a vacation to think things over and to get away from their marriage. Jean Simmons is wonderful in this film. She plays Mary in a subtle, honest way which is beautiful to watch. Her scene in the hospital is a heartbreaking moment as is the scene with her friend on the plane. She has a radiant presence whenever she is on screen and she elevates her film and makes it worth watching. I also really like the scenes with her mother and her friend Agnes because Simmons is so believable in these scenes. My only problem is that I think that the film didn't quite delve in it's characters enough and that brings down Simmon's performance a bit. But still, a terrific, very honest performance which gets

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love her.

joe burns said...

Would you have given her a nomination for Elmer Gantry?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I still sort of surprised she wasn't nominated.

dinasztie said...

Jean Simmons... Personally, I did not like her in Elmer Gantry. But I haven't seen this movie. From what I read she was the front-runner.

joe burns said...

Sage: I would too. I thought she was great.

Dinasztie: I know you didn't like her, but to each his own! And I think that Fonda was the frontrunner.

Louis: Thanks!