Lonelyhearts

Interesting newspaper tale with Montgomery Clift as interesting as ever, even though he'd had his car accident which changed his face. One of the best actors ever (along with Brando). He was great for the last 10 years of his life after his tragedy. Maureen Stapleton was heartbreakingly ignorant. Robert Ryan tough as nails. Myrna Loy beautiful and sensitive in a strange marriage and Mike Kellin adds authenticity. A great book by Nathaniel West who wrote DAY OF THE LOCUST.

I know this film bombed in '58..who cares? Too hip for the room. Definitely in the top ten of that year and Clift added another great character, even though he must have been in pain. Best performance = Maureen Stapleton (nominated).

I have been a Clift fan for years reading his biographies and having seen all of his films numerous times. The only exception was the 1958 film Lonelyhearts; for some reason I couldn't locate a DVD and had missed it when shown on TCM. I finally caught up with it on the network this week and all what I heard about the film to my perspective was misdirected. I had read/heard it was a soap opera, meandering and somewhat lifeless. As I saw this movie almost a week ago I can't help in not thinking about it from time to time. To me this was a moving film with amazing performances topped by Stapleton, Ryan and of course Clift. Monty Clift...what a gift of an actor who in this role after his major auto accident plays his character with such intensity and emotion. Incredible. There are scenes where you can see the emotion in his eyes that are so moving and the thought processes of the impact of his actions are so simple but awe inspiring and transparent. He was truly an artist and the shame of it was because of all the pain and ups and downs in his personal life we never got to see his full potential. The amazing Robert Ryan is incredible as well as he plays a cynical character with variation and depth that you have to marvel at the dexterity he uses in communicating the pain and mistrust of anyone he comes into contact with. Great actor. Maureen Stapleton is brilliant with her longing for connecting to something she is missing in her life and right when you begin to feel sympathy she changes on a dime. Brilliant! The only reason I gave it an 8 was the structure of the script and the backstory of Clift's character was a bit weak and rushed. Never the less...very good film that is a near not to be missed because of the performances. Must see for Clift fans.

The first time I saw this film I was repelled by terrible way people treated each other, and saw no point in it. After reading some reviews I watched it again and made more sense of it. The Lonely hearts column gets letters from people with all kinds of troubles, but most of the newspaper staff make fun of then. They do not realize they have unresolved problems too. One reporter whines incessantly about not getting the assignment he wanted, unaware that attitude will never get him anywhere. Shrike had his expectations dashed after a sports injury, then his wife got drunk and had a one night stand. Despite his own infidelities he continues to emotionally abuse her. Adam made contact with Shrike though his wife and breaking him becomes part of Shrikes way of hurting his wife. Pat Doyle has a war injury and can't perform as a husband, so he beats his wife because she seeks action elsewhere. Adams own father is in prison for killing his wife and her lover. These 3 couples all had problems, but instead of trying to solve them or even just break up they chose actions that prolong the hurt and make it worse. All three men literally feel their manhood was threatened.

Despite being too old for the role of young writer, Clift's frailty makes him believable .It'snot surprising his character is breaking down under all the suffering in the Lonelyhearts letters. Physicians have a higher rate of suicide than the general public, and psychiatrists the highest. Theres a limit to how much suffering you can deal with. Justy gets all the credit for saving Adam, but she wouldn't have been able to do that if it were not for her father.

This is a man who has lost his wife and has to raise three children on his own. He doesn't take to booze or sex with random women or complain about the burden or loss. He gets up everyday, gets his boys off to school goes to work, comes home and mows the lawn and takes the whole family out to the movies. Then he tells his daughter if she really Loves Adam to forgive him his lies and go live her life. Thats real manhood. That scene could come off as soap opera, but Frank Overton has the ability to underplay scenes where there is strong emotion, coming across as real and heartfelt. Although Ryan and Stapleton are very effective in their roles, this restrained one is much more difficult.

Only later did I find out how much art had imitated life. When Frank Overton was 14 his father died, and his mother who had been the mayor's wife and a member of the Board of Education became just a widow raising 3 boys on her own and an employee of the school district.

Nathaniel West's "Lonelyhearts" is a haunting novella about how an idealistic young man is affected by his job as an advice-giving columnist for his town's newspaper. It was intelligently adapted for the stage in the mid-50's, and the film version plainly uses that adaptation as a reference point as much as the novel itself. In ways, the film expands on the play's success, opening it up to reveal an idealized 50's picture-postcard town on the surface before centering on the insensitivity lying just underneath. Writer/Producer Schary and Director Donohue are to be commended for the atmosphere they have successfully created. It is unfortunate that they did not have enough faith in the material to resist the temptation to give it a happy ending, an ending which really is not in keeping with the events which precede it.

It must have seemed like a great idea to cast Montgomery Clift in the lead role of Adam, and a few years earlier it would have been, but this compelling actor's personal demons had so impacted upon him by this time that it is impossible not to be distracted by his unhealthy state of being. His slurred speech, unsteady gait and jerky mannerisms are entirely at odds with this character, who is said to have never had a stronger drink than a coca-cola. He is too good of an actor not to have effective moments - he works beautifully with Onslow Stevens, who plays his father - but this is a performance that holds our attention largely for unintentional reasons. Maureen Stapleton is sensational in her film debut as a writer to the column who manipulates Adam, and her performance would be right at home in a more faithful and successful version of this novel. Otherwise, this is a well-intended film which fails both to adequately reflect the novel on which it is based and to succeed on it's own terms.

To display his acting prowess, you could not find two more different roles for this excellent actor. Knowing the sadness of his personal life will give you even more perspective into this movie. I am not a soap opera fan, so I can't say how close to sentimental melodrama this gets, but it is saved from 'B-ness' (as in B-movie) by the sensitivity that Montgomery Clift puts into this movie. Having seen Robert Ryan in many war movies, I was not as impressed by his dry, cynical newspaper editor role. Not as routine as John Wayne playing himself (or what he would have LIKED to be) throughout all his movies, but close.

The last scene was well written, as was much of the dialogue. I liked the real sturm-und-drang that Clift's girlfriend has to go through after his lies are confessed to her. To watch Jean Stapleton go from victim to witch was quite interesting, and the plot has some interesting twists.

The suffering in Montgomery Clift's eyes, as he portrays an 'Advice to the Lovelorn' writer who gets too close to his 'clients' was not all acting. An automobile accident left him permanently marred and brought about his early death several years after this movie was made.

You will not erase his haunted eyes from your brain soon. And don't think too long about the issues here: How close can we 'civilized human beings' get to another's suffering without being swept away by it? It will hurt your brain.