Mommie Dearest

On a Scale of 1 to 10, with 10 Being the Best

4.5

Courtesy of Buzzfeed

Plot: This is the story of Joan Crawford and her abusive relationship with her daughter Christina Crawford. It starts when Joan Crawford adopted Christina up until Joan dies. I was told that this movie is pretty traumatic but I was surprised. There was a lot of mental abuse but the way it was described to me was that Joan Crawford beat her kids often, but there was only one case of that in the film. It is hard to watch but most of the time it was infuriating. I also found that it lacked the brother's side of the story. He also lived with Joan Crawford but his abuse was not documented in the film. Many people have watched this film and I have even heard the term, "Her mom as a real 'Mommie Dearest'." It does have relevance in our culture. It is based off the novel with the same title.

Characters/Actors: 

Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford: I thought that Ms. Dunaway was overacting. She characterized Joan Crawford in a way that seemed so fake. It almost felt that she was trying to be one of those bad 1950 actors. It was uncomfortable watching her because she was so borderline cheesy the entire time. Whenever she delivered a cruel line, I never thought that she delivered it well but thought about how Joan Crawford really said these things. I felt that Ms. Dunaway was more of a middle person. She told the story of Joan but did not embody Joan. 

Diana Scarwid as Christina Crawford: Ms. Scarwid did a pretty average job. I liked her acting performance more than Ms. Dunaway's as she seemed to try to really imagine how it was. I could sense her trying, though. It wasn't completely believable but wasn't awful. 

Mara Hobel as Young Christina Crawford: Ms. Hobel was by far the best actress in the film. Her grasp on the emotion of the film was much better than the other's. I could have been because her real innocence as a child could be seen in her portrayal of Christina. I was impressed with how intelligent Christina was and how she understood fairness, even if the adults around her did not. Spot on performance here.

Music: The music used many violins and brass which added to the drama. It's not iconic in anyway but does it's part well.

Cinematography/Camera Work: There were several errors I noticed in the movie that just made it seem sloppy. It's ironic because Joan Crawford was such a neat freak (emphasis on freak). I remember specifically in one scene where a waiter hit a glass of pop and it almost fell off the table. The fight scene was also done poorly. Everything seemed so fake as well. When I saw the house in the movie my first thought was, "That's a nice set." I did not think, "This is a nice house." I also hated the make-up on Ms. Dunaway, mostly for her lips. Joan Crawford had these strange thick lips but to hide that Ms. Dunaway didn't have the same lips, just added more lipstick. Not convincing. The camera work was fine. It had good angles, close-ups, and distance shots that worked nicely.

RECAP:

Camera work was done well but everything was pretty bad. The only good acting came from the young Christina and the music did it's part. I think this movie is good to watch to understand that even picturesque family's have dark stains and how abuse works in a family. 

Courtesy of Etsy

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