Review of The Quiet Man (1952) by Tim H — 13 Dec 2007

I'm not Irish. In no way am I Irish. My mom says that both the Irish and the Ukrainians have common descendants, but I don't believe her. Perhaps that's what's wrong with my life. I don't trust easily. Anyway, I don't find things that are quintessentially Irish all that amusing. Mainly because I can't relate. But otherwise, this movie f*cking rocks!

I have to give props to John Ford. He knows how to make a really grounded, honestly heartwarming movie. I'm tempted to buy the Ford at Fox billion DVD box set because of this movie. I can't say that I've ever thought of John Wayne as the handsome, romantic lead, but he does pull it off with flying colors. He is touching without losing his "dukeness" and that says a lot. It's odd that this movie made me really want to see True Grit, despite being a completely different genre.

Now, I'm not sure who was in the wrong in this movie. I'm pretty sure it was both of them but Maureen O'Hara's character enfuriated me. I get that there is tradition there, but everyone knows that Wayne is an American who doesn't understand all the local traditions. You'd think that someone would tell him the ins and outs of commonplace society well into his relationship. I don't blame him for reacting the way he did. Being an American (okay, Ukrainian-American), I don't see the importance of a dowry. Call me a hopeless romantic, but hating John Wayne for his ignorance gosh-darn-well enfuriated me. So when it was explained, I was happy to see the knock-down drag-out showdown, but sympathized with John Wayne the entire time.

And that's a tough thing to do!