The Member of the Wedding

Hampered at times by its staginess, The Member of the Wedding is a touching story of three unique, unforgettable characters that often taps into profound, universal feelings of otherness, loneliness, and longing to be part of someone's "we."

Although Harris's performance can occasionally be a bit much, it often serves as a remarkable expression of childhood frustration, greenness, anger, and sadness, however misguided or uninformed. Ethel Waters is the standout, and her performance is rich with humor, compassion, and experience. Brandon de Wilde is wonderful, although with the least fleshed out character. He makes his character captivating nonetheless.

The interactions between these three characters (and actors) really elevate this uneven, sometimes strange film into something more moving and substantial than it might have been.

On my very first viewing of The Member of the Wedding, I was stunned by its beauty, overwhelmed by its simplicity, captivated by its charm. A seemingly simple story of a young girl's attempt at growing up, this film takes us on a tumultuous and painful journey through the mind of Frankie Addams, a journey so fraught with twists and turns of emotion, we are barely able to keep up! Frankie's journey through adolescence is not an ordinary one. Her disapproval bordering on hatred of herself is bringing her to the edge of her world, and at times we are left wondering whether she has gone too far to ever come back. Her rebellion toward her journey is fierce, and Julie Harris is brilliant in her interpretation of a confused, angry young girl at odds with her world. If I had to make a list of the twenty movies that had the greatest impact on me in my lifetime, The Member of the Wedding would have to make the list. Ethel Waters is as charming and heart rending as she was in Pinky in this never to be forgotten film. I would suggest that it be used in the classroom as required viewing for students between the ages of twelve and fifteen, if only to give them a heroine with whom to share the sometimes chaotic journey from child to young adulthood.

Carson McCullers was one of the best writers the South has ever produced. The clarity and sensitivity of her prose is captured beautifully in this all-but-a-play film.

Ethel Waters, Brandon deWilde and Julie Harris repeat their triumphal Broadway performances.

As a Southern native, it is my informed opinion that Ms McCullers captures the complex and often misunderstood relationships of poor white folks and their even poorer black neighbors in the small town South before the advent of the American civil rights movement. United in poverty, religion and ignorance; they are divided by the institutions of racism and class.

The loneliness of childhood, the love that Bernice has for her young white charges together are explore in the backdrop of the rural South that Faulkner described as half myth and half mysticism.

Ethel Waters reveals her impressive dramatic skills near the end of a long career , Julie Harris displays a mastery of her craft at the beginning of her distinguished career, and Brandon deWilde steals every scene in which he appears.

Highly recommended.

I have always been a big fan of Mrs Harris: the neurotic woman in "the haunting"(1963),the romantic young girl in "east of Eden" (in "Kazan by Kazan,the director never stops singing her praises ,telling that he had never seen a face reflecting compassion as hers),the neurotic(again) wife in "reflections in a golden eye" (also a Carson Mc Cullers 'work which was not "cheapened " as it was always mooted;those who claimed this should read the novel before) In "members of the wedding",at 27,she portrays a 12 year-old girl and it works!Frankie looks like a tomboy,she is not feminine at all and all the lovely girls around don't want her to be part of their "club" ;she's been an outcast all her life and she wants to be part ,to be the member of something;when she sees her brother and his soon-to-be-wife ,she is fascinated by their happiness and her idee fixe is to become a part of them, to go with them on their honeymoon.

The only company she gets is her young cousin and the black servant;Brandon De Wilde was a wunderkind,one of the most brilliant child actors of all time,who,like his co-stars ,had played his part on stage before (like Patty Duke would do in "the miracle worker");De Wilde was also convincing in his parts of teenagers in "Hud" and "all fall down" ,but sadly was to die before his time;Ethel Waters shines too,in her part of the sweet tender servant:the scene when she tells the death of her husband is unforgettable;her singing is absolutely spellbinding.

This is not a happy story:the pain of growing up,when you are considered an ugly duckling,of being rejected when you need someone you can relate to,of losing the only persons who show you some affection,"member of the wedding" is all this and more.

I will admit that viewing a 1952 film from a 2007 perspective might be clouding my opinion. Julie Harris' "Frankie" is overplayed and ruins the entire piece. I attempted to look past the fact that she is supposed to be only 12. C'mon, even in 1951/52 Julie could never pass for a 12-year-old, maybe 18. Directors often ask the audience to suspend their beliefs and imaginations - but this is too much to ask regarding Ms. Harris. Yes, the dialog is effective. It is interesting considering certain episodes within the film. For instance, 10-year-old John Henry's proclivities toward cross-dressing. Daring I must say for the time? Ms. Walter's presentation (considering she had to buffer the over-dramatic Harris) is excellent. Little Brandon also holds his own. Maybe as a stage presentation it worked - but as "one of the great films" in cinema history - forget it.