atlasmb
Call it a melodrama. At times, the music swells to remind us that so much is on the line. Call it a soap opera. The script hardly misses a chance to string along the emotions of the viewer. But "All That Heaven Allows" is more than that, if only for its message--a simple one, but one that is extremely important: to thine own self be true.This story of romance would be worthwhile watching only for this lesson, but it offers more. The sets are beautiful. The direction is solid. Jane Wyman, who stars as Cary Scott, is convincing as the confused woman who loves a younger man but lacks the strength to follow her feelings. Rock Hudson plays the object of her affections--a man of principles who won't compromise his values. Gloria Talbott, who plays Cary's daughter, has a screen presence that, perhaps, could have been utilized more. Likewise, Agnes Moorehead as Cary's friend, Sara Warren.This is not a great film, but it represents its era very well, in terms of quality and theme.
SnoopyStyle
Cary Scott (Jane Wyman) is an affluent widow with two grown children. They still come home for the weekends but she lives an empty live. Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson) is her arborist who runs his father's nursery. Cary and the younger Ron grow closer and he proposes to her. She's scared but she eventually accepts. She becomes gossip material. Then everybody else objects especially her kids. She sacrifices her happiness for them. She gets even more lonely and heart broken. Is it too late for her to find love? This is generally an old fashion romance except for the age difference and the expectation on the woman widower. The romance is pretty good with Wyman and Hudson although it does get very melodramatic at the end. The romance challenges the social morals of the conservative norms. The tension is quite good especially with her kids. Her facing her social expectations are some of the best scenes in the movie.
chaos-rampant
The question here is why can't it be a simple thing, love? It should be; but she is an upper-class widow and he's too young and her own gardener so what will people say. We have here a crushing indictment of the hypocrisy of people, the small-minded dead-ends of social life where our self has to extend over; we can't just be locked in our house falling in love, it has to be aired in the open, nurtured in the approval. So it's no small question the film poses; it's all too easy to condemn the fragile woman who's deathly afraid of opinion, easier said than overcome. But he's too pure; at one point a deer is seen eating out of his hand! The falling in love is never quite fleshed, believable, it just happens so we can skip to the dilemmas about love so the whole foundation is shaky. Her anxiety is palpable, but only her side of the hurt. It's melodrama dished straight, too creamy and simple for me, holding only a habitual power. Scenes roll one into the other like someone stirring his martini. What remains is the translucent gloss and color, the halos of anticipation around the faces, the glassdoors and windows of aired emotion.But you can sense the rejection of complacent formality that is to come. A TV is already at this point seen as a mirror of quashed dreams; Walden is picked up and quoted.
movie-viking
The "may December" movie is more a "Working Class Guy vs Slightly Older Well-off Widow".Jane Wyman was only 8 years older than Rock Hudson, and she looks great in this movie...barely old enough to be mom to her 17 year old girl and college age boy. So what's the REAL obstacle? The contrast is... rich widow with know-it-all college kids versus the creative working class guy.The dialogue and some of the so-called obstacles just a bit corny, but is beautifully lit. Mr. Sirk--the director--was a master of color and scene layout!Young filmmakers can learn from this wonderfully lit and shot film. Note the use of shadows also!!!
AD
