I didn't even remember this being THAT good! Omg this was so whimsical and fun honestly! A bit of analysis: this film is kinda the discussion of what neglecting does to a child. I don't think anyone should neglect their child. Gwen's father neglects her because he is rather obsessed with his wealth and her mother neglects her because she is rather too obsessed with the high society. There's even ridiculous scenes when she's literally not even at her OWN birthday party. She does private schooling at home and cannot play with anyone. But when she does play, it is with a spoiled brat who lies and insults Gwen's own parents. There's a lot of funny scenes such as when she had a playful fight with that other spoiled brat. She has mud fights with the street boys. But whenever she has fun she is quickly brought back to the lifestyle she must lead. And that's a rather boring lifestyle, full of mundane and tenacious people. Gwen has a feisty sense and a fun approach to life that is suppressed by the adults around her. There's finally the dreamlike sequence, where she engulfs wayy too much sleeping medicine and begins to hallucinate. It's so interesting to see the figures in her life actually be in her dream, which makes the dreamlike sequence arguably more believable. The dreamlike sequence has to be one of the most stunning pieces of scenery I've seen in silent cinema. It does actually take a dark turn at times. There's the two faced woman, which literally has a woman with two faces, there's a man with big ears, he literally has big ears. One of the maids called another guy an ass, well he appears as a donkey (an ass). Like I said the dreamlike sequence turns dark and rather macabre actually, as a woman who is death one assumes, rather mysterious and aloof tries to persuade Gwen to basically be put to eternal sleep (or otherwise known as death). But she meets a figure who obviously represents Life, and Gwen is enamoured by life and follows them. Finally in a happy ending, her parents realise they have been neglecting their baby too long and they should stop.
Anyways on a production level this is insanely perfect, and it might be one of my favourite silent films. The comedic gags are perfect and so suited to Mary. She uses so much physicality in her approach. There's the infamous bathroom scene where she splashes water onto the maid. Or the scene where she fights in the mud and it's just so perfect. There's scenes where she perfects the feeling of hurt and loneliness. She conveys it so well. There was no actor really like her, because she was so understated and simple with a naturalistic style in her acting approach. She's amazing. At the size of 5 foot, and with the help if REALLY TALL actor and big sets, Mary actually does come across as a child really well. When you consider she is 25 playing an 11 year old. Ironically this role becomes the most famous of her career defining her career for the next decade. Mary is such an underlooked artist in her work. While yes credits go to the amazing screenwriter Francis Marion and the director Maurice Tourneur (so shocked to find out our Out of the Past director Jacques Tourneur's own dad!), but arguably Mary Pickford had that level of creative control behind the works of art she did. She's amazing. And a relic of film history that has gone far too underlooked. Loved this film a lot!
I didn't even remember this being THAT good! Omg this was so whimsical and fun honestly! A bit of analysis: this film is kinda the discussion of what neglecting does to a child. I don't think anyone should neglect their child. Gwen's father neglects her because he is rather obsessed with his wealth and her mother neglects her because she is rather too obsessed with the high society. There's even ridiculous scenes when she's literally not even at her OWN birthday party. She does private schooling at home and cannot play with anyone. But when she does play, it is with a spoiled brat who lies and insults Gwen's own parents. There's a lot of funny scenes such as when she had a playful fight with that other spoiled brat. She has mud fights with the street boys. But whenever she has fun she is quickly brought back to the lifestyle she must lead. And that's a rather boring lifestyle, full of mundane and tenacious people. Gwen has a feisty sense and a fun approach to life that is suppressed by the adults around her. There's finally the dreamlike sequence, where she engulfs wayy too much sleeping medicine and begins to hallucinate. It's so interesting to see the figures in her life actually be in her dream, which makes the dreamlike sequence arguably more believable. The dreamlike sequence has to be one of the most stunning pieces of scenery I've seen in silent cinema. It does actually take a dark turn at times. There's the two faced woman, which literally has a woman with two faces, there's a man with big ears, he literally has big ears. One of the maids called another guy an ass, well he appears as a donkey (an ass). Like I said the dreamlike sequence turns dark and rather macabre actually, as a woman who is death one assumes, rather mysterious and aloof tries to persuade Gwen to basically be put to eternal sleep (or otherwise known as death). But she meets a figure who obviously represents Life, and Gwen is enamoured by life and follows them. Finally in a happy ending, her parents realise they have been neglecting their baby too long and they should stop.
Anyways on a production level this is insanely perfect, and it might be one of my favourite silent films. The comedic gags are perfect and so suited to Mary. She uses so much physicality in her approach. There's the infamous bathroom scene where she splashes water onto the maid. Or the scene where she fights in the mud and it's just so perfect. There's scenes where she perfects the feeling of hurt and loneliness. She conveys it so well. There was no actor really like her, because she was so understated and simple with a naturalistic style in her acting approach. She's amazing. At the size of 5 foot, and with the help if REALLY TALL actor and big sets, Mary actually does come across as a child really well. When you consider she is 25 playing an 11 year old. Ironically this role becomes the most famous of her career defining her career for the next decade. Mary is such an underlooked artist in her work. While yes credits go to the amazing screenwriter Francis Marion and the director Maurice Tourneur (so shocked to find out our Out of the Past director Jacques Tourneur's own dad!), but arguably Mary Pickford had that level of creative control behind the works of art she did. She's amazing. And a relic of film history that has gone far too underlooked. Loved this film a lot!
