Delbert Mann's 1955 Oscar-winning film Marty is a character driven delight. It's the story of social outcasts, striving to fit the mold and expectations that have been placed upon them for various reasons. Marty (Ernest Borgnine) is approaching middle-age, overweight, awkward, Italian, and unmarried. Clara (Betsy Blair), a simple schoolteacher, feels like she should be so much more and is abandoned on a blind date. The two meet, unexpectedly, at a ballroom and chat away about lost ambitions and troubling loneliness. It sounds almost like the indie art film before Hollywood even knew what it was. Not surprisingly, it's one of the few films that won top prizes at both the Academy Awards and the Cannes Film Festival.
Borgnine brings a classic charm to the role, with a humble pluckiness that makes the work come to life. His melancholy alienation makes you feel every layer of his pain, from his trying to please his nagging mother to simply respecting himself. Betsy Blair is a marvel, in a simple and undramatic turn that ends up being completely engaging. It helps that they are given a spectacular screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky, who mixes humor, realism, and heartbreaking American immobilization in a mild but felt manner; a scene following a successful first date has Marty calling a cab with a newfound passion for love and life he makes this rare expense, it's triumphant and a great moment in cinema!
Other times, it doesn't work so much. There are some subplots and minor characters that detract from the heart of the story and slow down the momentum towards the end of the film. If Chayefsky had a narrower focus on the romance and anticipated connection of the characters, it would have wrapped the film up with a lovely bow, but instead we get just a few thoughtless ribbons on top of a gorgeous package. That being said, the a characters are so well-realized and written, that you almost forget anything or anyone else in the film matters. This is both the greatest and weakest aspects of the film. B
Borgnine brings a classic charm to the role, with a humble pluckiness that makes the work come to life. His melancholy alienation makes you feel every layer of his pain, from his trying to please his nagging mother to simply respecting himself. Betsy Blair is a marvel, in a simple and undramatic turn that ends up being completely engaging. It helps that they are given a spectacular screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky, who mixes humor, realism, and heartbreaking American immobilization in a mild but felt manner; a scene following a successful first date has Marty calling a cab with a newfound passion for love and life he makes this rare expense, it's triumphant and a great moment in cinema!
Other times, it doesn't work so much. There are some subplots and minor characters that detract from the heart of the story and slow down the momentum towards the end of the film. If Chayefsky had a narrower focus on the romance and anticipated connection of the characters, it would have wrapped the film up with a lovely bow, but instead we get just a few thoughtless ribbons on top of a gorgeous package. That being said, the a characters are so well-realized and written, that you almost forget anything or anyone else in the film matters. This is both the greatest and weakest aspects of the film. B