I am well aware that most people think I am crazy about my taste in movies and the scores I give to certain movies. I’ve said it time and time again that some of the Academy’s choices for Best Picture are head-scratchers, and I know for a fact that I am not the only one with such strong feelings.
This brings us to the 1955 winner, Marty, a short film (1:30) about a single guy named Marty (Ernest Borgnine) who finally finds his true love after searching his entire life.
I felt alright about most of the film because I spent a good portion of my bachelor life searching to no avail. I could relate to his struggles and feelings towards love because no matter how much someone denies it, we all want to feel love.
The biggest drawback for me was how the film ended. Marty surrounds himself with the most negative-minded people, and when he finally has someone in his life, they all talk him out of it. Instead of actually calling Clara (Betsy Blair) at 2:30 pm like he said he was going to, he crumbles to peer pressure and blows her off. After finally realizing that he shouldn’t care about anyone else, he picks up the phone to call, some six hours late. The film ends with him saying “hello Clara.” I was completely shocked that the film would just end like that. I wouldn’t even call it a cliffhanger because I was upset at the way things played out. I honestly could care less if Marty and Clara ended up together or whatever happened because the story ending like that sucked.
Like I mentioned before, I was okay with the story up until the ending. Marty is an everyman’s man. He worked hard, took care of his mom, and was respected by those around him. His love and hate relationship with romance was acceptable because it felt real. This man had nothing but pure intentions and a heart made of gold, which would be a great catch for anyone, had they been looking. Just when all hope was lost, fate stepped in and saved the day.
Marty is one of the shortest Best Picture winners and was originally written as a teleplay. Obviously, there wasn’t a whole lot to tell here, so the writers kept it short and to the point. Yes, I would have loved a different ending and a little bit more development of the story, but clearly, the academy loved the abrupt ending and suspense that came with it. I didn’t need a lovely happy ending, but I deserved more. 4/10
Ten Stars or Less 