Review

by Natacha V

nothing can bring back the hour...

A fantastic film, with all the melodrama you'd expect from the Hollywood of the late 50's and early 60's. Director Elia Kazan may not have had the greatest political outlook in the world but he knew what he was doing with this kind of material, following 'On The Waterfront' and 'East of Eden' with this tale of doomed teenage romance. Natalie Wood (in the same year that she filmed West Side Story) puts in terrific performance as the eventually-crazed heroine Deanie, and Warren Beatty is perfectly cast in his first role as the dumb but well-meaning object of Deanie's desire. Films like this can often seem a little dated when compared to the issues that get dealt with in modern films of young love, but Splendor In The Grass has a dark undercurrent to it that the directors of today's Hollywood teen dramas could well do to take note of.