University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

Weekend With The Mother-In-Law

By DAVID NOZIGLIA

Francesca (Patti Duke) met
Matthew on one of his
furloughs. She married him,
two weeks later he died, and
she found out she was
pregnant. All alone in the
world, she comes to his
mother's Minnesota mansion,
and discovers that his mother
(Rosemary Murphy) is not at
all like Matthew described.

Unfortunately, she is snowed
in, and she must stay for two
days in an old house with the
woman and her retarded
daughter, Kathleen (Sian
Barbara Allen).

So we settle in, not too
comfortably, to You'll Like
My Mother. Not too
comfortably because the
macabre situation creates a
nice tension, and this tension is
slowly, delicately built upon as
the movie progresses.

The key to this kind of
tension is pacing. Each bit of
information is given at the
proper time, so that the
audience is not swamped in
facts or bored.

The director, Lamont
Johnson, had a fine script to
start with, and he did an
excellent job with it. Never
does he allow the tension to let
up for a minute.

Johnson has also shown a
good control of atmosphere:
the sets, with the multiple
stairs, the strong contrasts of
dark and light areas, and the
camera angles set just enough
off-center to prick the hairs on
the back of the viewer's neck
without being obvious.

But the one thing that really
makes this film work has not
been mentioned. That is the
really first-rate performances
put in by all four main actors.

Patti Duke again proves how
much she deserves her
reputation. She develops a full
character out of what is in the
film not very much. She comes
across as a strong person in a
weak situation and gains our
sympathy and best wishes
without in any way calling for
pity.

The key, in fact, to
everyone's performance is
control. Sian Barbara Allen
gives an extraordinary
Kathleen. She never once
resorts to an unoriginal gesture
in the film, something easy to
do when playing an insane or
retarded person. The same goes
for Rosemary Murphy, and for
Ricyard Thomas.

Tomorrow night and every
Tuesday night the Paramount
lets in students for half-price.
This film is definitely worth
taking advantage of the
opportunity.

(Now at The Paramount)