Customer Reviews

Splendor In The Grass

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This is a deft directorial effort by Elia Kazan. The name of the film comes from some telling lines of poetry from Wordsworth that are thematic for what transpires in the film. It is a beautifully acted, well told, coming of age story. It is also a story about young love in all its innocence and hopefulness.

The film takes the viewer to the bucolic Midwest of the nineteen twenties. There, the viewer meets small town, high school sweethearts, the lovely Wilma Dean Loomis (Natalie Wood) and the handsome and wealthy Bud Stamper (Warren Beatty). Wilma, "Deanie" to her friends, is head over heels in love with Bud, and he is head over heels in love with "Deanie". They want to get married right after graduation, and Bud wants to farm the family ranch.

The only problem is Bud's Father. He wants Bud to cool it with "Deanie" and to see other girls for the fun of it. He wants Bud to attend an Ivy League college and put off getting married. Bud tries to comply and cools it with "Deanie". The problem is that things had heated up between them before the breakup, and "Deanie" cannot adjust to being without Bud. Her heartbreak is palpable, and Natalie Wood's performance is so poignant, the viewer can just about hear her heart break, when she sees Bud with another girl. It is her yearning for what was that ultimately brings her to the bittersweet edge of despair. Likewise, it is Bud's yearning for "Deanie" that makes him behave in ways that are contrary to his own interests.

Well, the best laid plans often go awry, and things do not work out for Bud or "Deanie" the way they had originally planned. Their world is rent asunder by the vicissitudes of life and the impact of world events and others on their plans. What happens to "Deanie" and Bud when they come to a fork in the road, puts them on paths that may criss cross, but will never again see them travel on the same road at the same time. This is a heartrending story of star crossed lovers that is sure to touch the viewer. It is at the conclusion of the film that the beauty of Wordsworth's words are driven home and take root in the viewer's heart.