Lovin' Molly

Coming on the heels of The Last Picture Show, this Larry McMurtry adaptation must've sounded like a sure thing with the likes of Beau Bridges, Anthony Perkins, and Blythe Danner before the cameras and the great Sidney Lumet behind but ultimately this film is a case of too much too soon. This story, which resembles last year's The Hi-Lo Country, could've been much more interesting in the hands of others. Bridges and Danner give their acting chops a good exercise but it's a case of bringing on newcomers before their time while Perkins is just miscast period. Even Lumet shows he's in unfamiliar territory by shooting the outdoor sequences in a flat, TV movie fashion while keeping the performances more in tune with the melodramatic films of yesteryear instead of being true to the times in which the film was made. Imagine what Sam Peckinpah or Martin Ritt could've done with the material. Neither being completely horrible or forgivably worthwhile, Lovin' Molly will remain an interesting footnote in the careers of all involved.

This movie doesn't have the action and gun-toting violence (thank goodness) of modern-day movies, and I found the story compelling and the actors believable. It introduces us to an early and charming Blythe Danner; Anthony Perkins is stilted and unapproachable - as the character called for, and Beau Bridges is someone you just want to hug. It was interesting to see how the producer/director made the movie span about 30 years - both in the actors, and in the setting. The scenery was beautiful to me - but then I'm from Texas, so I know how beautiful Central Texas is. Produced before ratings, I would give this a GP because it deals with a beautiful lady and her love of two different men.

Molly was probably a likable character, and I got the impression Blythe Danner was giving a good performance. But somehow this movie never registered with me. I did like the old-time music (Ralph Stanley wouldn't want me to call it bluegrass) and the big-band music used in one scene in the 1940s.

My biggest problem was that I could never remember which of the male characters were which (and apparently Molly had the same problem seeing as how she couldn't make up her mind which one to like), and even though I like Beau Bridges, I never saw any of the men as resembling him until the 1960s.

This was probably a good movie to those who like novels such as 'Wuthering Heights'.

Lovin' Molly very accurately captures the emotion, mood, and zeitgeist of the times it's set in. The film stands on its own regardless of having read the book.

Also, Anthony Perkins is most definitely not miscast. I found his portrayal of Gid quite compelling. His ability to contrast against Johnny (Beau Bridges) was spot on.

Mr Fry (Edward Binns) was not sufficiently developed but the film does an excellent job capturing the character. I would have liked to see more of the interaction with Mr. Taylor (Claude Traverse) and Gid.

I highly recommend this film to any fan of Larry McMurtry as an example of his earlier works.

Maybe it's not such a bad movie if you haven't read the book. But after reading the book which has something muggy, something atmospheric around watching the movie is a boring and tedious business. Even the characters are miscast. How can you believe Anthony Perkins is Gid? Besides they should have made ONE story for the movie out of the three perspectives in the book. Following the book this closely for the movie was a mistake. Another thing is that the characters don't change age. They don't get visibly older. If you think that a movie like Chinatown was made around the same time you see what I mean with lack of quality. Lovin' Molly is too much a book filming in which they tried to stay faithful to the book. Anyway, maybe somebody who never read the book can enjoy it.