Review of The Bad Seed (1956) by Diana S — 15 Mar 2008

Talk about behind.

[b]The Bad Seed [/b]focuses on a seemingly perfect little girl, blond braids, sweet smile. But when a schoolmate has a tragic accident on a picnic, her mother starts to suspect evil beneath the little girl's sweetness. This is an old school suspense movie. The characters are introduced and given plenty of time to impress us (sometimes the wrong way like the grating voice of the land lady). Though I wanted the length to be a bit shorter, this film has to be seen for the double whammy of the ending. Be sure to watch the credits. I left this film laughing in disbelief as well as feeling sort of dirty inside.

[b].

The Messengers[/b] starts out as a tight little PG-13 horror movie. The family moves from the city to an isolated farm house in order to escape some trouble their teenaged daughter caused. Kristen Stewart ("Jumper") stars and pulls off the tortured teen with enough aplomb to make this cliched character seem to have depth. The ghosts are creepy, especially with the scuttling. Freaks me out. And then there's the psycho-killer twist. That's right, psycho-killers and ghosts. And then the movie ends. Just kind of bam! into a neat implausible little ball. Alas.

[b].

The Princess Diaries [/b]was cute and fun. Julie Andrews ("Enchanted") really is royalty. I don't know what else to say about this story of a dorky girl who transforms into a princess. If I were 12, I would love it.

[b]I Want to Live![/b] took me by surprise. Susan Hayward ("The Revengers") stars as a party girl who does some time. Then she settles down to try and have a family. But then her luck turns again and she ends up on trial for murder, facing the death penalty. Sometimes Hayward's character is super annoying. However, I found myself falling deeper and deeper into her story. Based on an actual trial, the movie really comes into it's own during the jail scenes. Hayward is tough and tragic. I especially loved the use of only diegetic sound during the final sequences. It really brought the intensity home. Hayward won the Oscar for this film.

[b].

The Bridges of Madison County[/b] is supposed to be one of the most romantic stories ever. I'm not sold on that assessment, but it has its moments. Meryl Streep ("Lions for Lambs") stars as a slightly bored housewife who meets a photographer, Clint Eastwood ("Million Dollar Baby"), while her family is out of town. They then spend a beautiful four days together. Streep and Eastwood are great (of course), but their story is told in flashback. The present day focus is on Steep's adult children who learn of the affair after her death. They are the worst actors ever, yanking us right out of the story.