Cinema
The Trip to Bountiful (`U', selected cinemas)
Back to basics
Peter Ackroyd
Even an audience forced to sit blind- folded through this film (and it can hapPen — it is the only explanation for the awards at Cannes) would soon realise that it has been adapted from a play; the general tone is, shall we say, theatrical. In the opening sequence the ghosts of Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams are invoked to preside over scenes of domestic conflict: the litbrig, rhythms of the South are used only to add further venom as Ma, Son and Daughter- in-Law fight it out over the fried chicken. One expected a foghorn at any moment, or the sudden entrance of a demented crea- ture wearing only a nightdress and asking for the next bus to Bountiful through the townships of Languor and Holy Blood- shed. She could certainly have relied on the kindness of an American audience, who like to be reminded from time to time of their great theatrical tradition, and the fact that the picture is set in the Fortiejs only adds to the atmosphere of heightened expectation. It was actually written by Horton Foote. The old woman is played by Geraldine Page. She was awarded an Oscar for her performance and, although she could not have foreseen this at the time, she certainly gives what can only be described as a 'star' turn. Here she plays a warm-hearted but slightly dotty old thing — this is one of the enduring images of the American cinema, as recognisable as Dracula and as old as Donald Duck. She is passionate, mercu- rial, querulous, demanding, tearful; she runs through the whole repertoire, in fact, and it is a tribute to her tactfulness that she manages to hit all the appropriate notes without relapsing entirely into stereotype. Geraldine Page is saved by her skill as an actress, in other words, and in particular manages to avoid that glossy and self- conscious 'eccentricity' which makes Katherine Hepburn such an embarrass- ment.
But let us spare a thought for her supporting cast': Carlin Glynn as the slatternly and sometimes vicious Daughter- in-Law could not have been better, and John Heard as the dear devoted Son can only add to his reputation as the Gerard Depardieu of America (i.e. brawn and brain). Both of them have come out of the other end of the 'star' system: unlike Meryl Streep (to take one egregious example), who rather lumpishly plays herself on every possible occasion, despite the fussy skill with which she adopts one European accent or another, actors like Heard and Glynn subdue their own personalities in order to grapple with the part at hand. They are much easier to watch. And so they carry a great deal of conviction in their respective roles, lending another dimension to what is essentially a melodrama. The ensuing combination of domestic realism and emotional caricature is actually rather an appealing one — like the saint and the gargoyle above the church porch, each one by itself would be faintly disconcerting but together they are reas- suring. As a result it is difficult not to be interested in the narrative which unfolds the old lady, tired by domestic discord, is trying to find her way back to the place of her birth, Bountiful, and not even the murmurings of her afflicted heart are going to stop her. For those who are still able to be touched, it is quite touching: handkerchief drill may be necessary. It is one of those films which deals with 'timeless issues', and so there has to be a scene on a long- distance bus; it skirts around tragedy with sentimentality while at the same time remaining quaint and amiable. It would have been interesting to have seen Ma afflicted with senile dementia, but the tradition insists that she stay loveable and relatively articulate until the end. Other- wise, it would have been like poisoning the cherry pie. This is in fact very much an American style, representing a sort of brash optimism which is on occasions lightly touched by lyricism. The Trip to Bountiful takes place in a world where people are presumed to be good-natured and fundamentally equal — the presence of the old girl among the young is proof of the continuity of that tradition, just as the name of Bountiful itself suggests the glowing origins of the American experience and is evidence of the deep idealism that animates the film. It is just what everyone loves, if not quite needs.
And for those idealists who enjoy the spectacle of the Forties revived, there is much here to be admired — even the direction has a straightness of emphasis derived from that period, although, of course, one will shoot the first person who mentions Norman Rockwell or the tradi- tion of ruralism in American politics. These things are better left to the imagina- tion, and in fact this film is very well executed within its own terms. And Geral- dine Page deserves her award.
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