The Member of the Wedding

Movies on demand is currently resurrecting this 1997 cinematic version of Carson McCullers brilliant 1946 novel THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING. McCullers herself adapted the novel for a Broadway production 1950 with a cast that included Ethel Waters, Julie Harris, and Brandon deWilde: Waters, Harris, and De Wilde repeated their roles in the 1952 film version, winning an Oscar nomination for Julie Harris. There was a 1982 television adaptation starring Pearl Bailey, Dana Hill, and Howard E. Rollins, Jr. and then came this 1997 film version, adapted by David W. Rintels (from the novel and not the play) starring Anna Paquin, Alfre Woodard, and Corey Dunn.

The story takes place over a few days in late August in the South of the 1940s, telling the story of 12-year-old tomboy Frankie Addams (Anna Paquin), who feels disconnected from the world; in her words, an "unjoined person." Frankie's mother died when she was born, and her father (Enrico Colantoni) is a distant, uncomprehending figure. Her closest companions are the family's African American maid, Berenice Sadie Brown (Alfrie Woodward), and her six- year-old cousin, John Henry West (Corey Dunn). She has no friends in her small Southern town, and dreams of going away with her soldier brother (Matt McGrath) and his bride-to-be Janice (Anne Tremko) on their honeymoon in the Alaskan wilderness. It is a tender tale of the complexities of growing into adolescence, the hurtful encounters that are destined to come, and how one tomboy is transformed by the aura of a wedding.

The film is tightly acted and Anna Paquin is convincing as the metamorphosing Frankie to Jasmine, but her very affected southern accent is troublesome. Alfre Woodward brings a different kind of dignity to her role as the benevolent Berenice. Corey Dunn is excellent as John Henry; there is no evidence in the searching that he is still acting or alive. For those who have not seen the original play or film this at least provides a peek into the genius of Carson McCullers and for that alone it is well worth watching.

Grady Harp

Carson McCullers would be proud of this film, one of the best made for television I've ever seen. The stunning actors have little room to move around (this was a play), but they managed to capture and hold my attention and pity. The subtle gender-identity issue was brought out well by Anna's great acting, but she almost lost me at the start with her horrible Southern accent. Once I accepted her bad accent, she more than made up for it with her made-real-for-me portrayal of Frankie.

Paquin's accent isn't great, although she is a reasonably affecting Frankie. Julie Harris she is not, but she has her moments. Woodard is terrific as Berenice, as far as she was allowed to go.

But the novel, which is a dreamy, exquisite book, has been eviscerated. Not only did the writer (or more likely, the producer or the director or Hallmark) simply lop off the rest of the story, but Berenice's big scene, wherein she tells of Ludie's death and her subsequent, hopeless search for "pieces" (as she says) of him, has been eliminated, except for a fragment plopped (why?!) at the beginning of the movie.

Really, I think there should be a law against hacks putting their hands on art. Everything Mrs. McCullers created -- the characters, the pathos, the heat and boredom of that summer, the depth of their sorrow, longing, restlessness, disappointment... oh! and the plot -- has been diluted for easy consumption by the public, most of whom, alas, will not even know the difference. Which, I suppose, is why, and how, the perpetrators of this pale fraud justified this sorry mess. Shame on them.

Read the book and then (and only then) see the original movie. Please.

This could have been a wonderful version of McCuller's novel if Pacquin had not been so terrible in the role of Frankie. She may have been good in her first role in "The Piano", but she has not become a good actress. Her acting ability has not grown...it has diminished. In this play, her acting is painful to watch. One can 'see' her act which is not pleasant. She just doesn't have the talent to pull it off. As a young Jane Eyre, it was also painful to watch her. For anyone who has seen the original version of "Member of the Wedding" with Julie Harris will know what I mean. Harris was incredible and it would be hard to match her performance. Pacquin just seems to be a lightweight playing against the extremely talented Alfre Woodard. I love this play and it just made me sad to see Pacquin do such a terrible job with such a fascinating character.

The Carson McCullers' novel whom this movie is based on is very simple on its surface, but deeply it contains a stunning sadness and melancholy that the intelligent writer expresses perfectly.

It has characters whose lifes are normal without nothing special happening to them, but the deep feelings are there and the novel captures them in a very special way. There lies the greatness of the book.

But, ¿Is possible to translate this to the screen? Well, is not an easy job, but here we have an excellent and very faithful adaptation of the story of Frankie Addams with the same minimalism that characterizes the novel (sometimes it seems a play rather than a movie) and, of course, its same power. Is the story of Frankie (a wonderful Paquin), a tall, depressive, imaginative and sad 12 years-old girl who hopes to runaway from her village with her brother and his girlfriend (who are going to marry that summer). Meanwhile she spends that long and hot summer with the only company of Berenice (Woodard) and her cousin John Henry (Dunn).

The movie's great success is on the casting: this is the movie of Anna Paquin, who is so believable and superb as Frankie that ends becoming Frankie rather than playing her. To see Paquin dreaming of Alaska, hitting a soldier or not hearing what others say in her conversations is to see the Frankie of the novel; and to see Paquin suffering in the long scene of Woodard's monologue and in the ending is to suffer like when you're reading the book. There Frankie and her mind are the center of the story and in the movie the center becomes Paquin, with the same rage of Flora from "The Piano" and the same sadness and melancholy of Amy from "Fly Away Home".

Summarizing, an excellent TV-movie for those who admire the novel and Carson McCullers and for those who admire Anna Paquin, one of the most talented young actresses actually.