Review of Marty (1955) by Jennifer A — 27 Mar 2007

[size=2]Marty may be an average Joe, but thankfully the film isn't a dog. Review of Marty below. [b].

Marty (1955) - 7.8/10.

[/b]Director - Delbert Mann.

Starring - Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Cioilli, Joe Mantell, Karen Steele, Jerry Paris, Frank Sutton.

34 year old Marty (Ernest Borgnine) is a lonely butcher still living with his mother in the Bronx. All his brothers and sisters have ammried and started families, but the prospects look grim for the gentle, but dumpy man. Constant rejection has caused him to have severe self-esteem issues. So Marty generally hangs out with his buddies. On a whim Marty ends up at the Stardust Ballroom with buddy Angie (Joe Mantell) where he meets a plain looking schoolteacher named Claire (Betsy Blair). Claire, who is 29, has faced plenty of rejection of her own, in fact her blind date dumped her at the dance hall. Marty consoles her and the two hit it off. When Marty's mother (Esther Minciotti) meets Claire she begins to worry that Marty will abandon her.

A simple, but extremely charming story, [i]Marty [/i]succeeds for all of the right reasons. The screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky is full of excellent dialogue, and lonliness as a theme is something everyone can probably relate to at some point of their lives. Probably the greatest success was making Marty so plain. He's an average Joe, not particularly handsome, successful, or bright. Part of the joy of Marty was watching his character become self-actualized. A rather timid man, he was unduly influenced by his mother and his friends, and trying to live up to their expectations. Ernest Borgnine gives the performance of his career in this film. The 'anti-leading man', he was usually relagated to tough guy supporting roles. The supporting cast is excellent as well, especially Marty's mother played by Esther Minciotti. A nice little film indeed.

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