What the Manolo Is…

Manolo says, it is late on Tuesday and thus time to see what the Manolo is…

It had been many years since the Manolo last saw Gone with the Wind, and on viewing it again the other evening, what struck the Manolo most forcefully was how it was both exceedingly melodramatic and yet completely engaging.

By rights, this movie should be considered laughable, with each overly dramatic and manipulative incident following so closely on the heels of the previous one.

But it is not.

Instead, one is irrevocably sucked into the compelling and bizarre world of Scarlet O’Hara where up is down, and down is fiddle-di-dee! You weep real tears at the death of Bonny Blue, gasp at the revelation that Captain Butler has shot the pony and locked himself into the nursery with the corpse, and three minutes later are weeping again as Melanie collapses and dies.

How is this level of emotional engagement in something so obviously contrived even possible?

The Manolo admits to having no clue.

Comments

Saumaya 17 years ago

I love the dress Scarlett O’Hara whips out from the green drapes

La Petite Acadienne 17 years ago

I love the homage that the great Carol Burnett did of Scarlett O’Hara’s whipping up of that dress from the green drapes.

Irene Done 17 years ago

It’s funny. From the first sentence of the book, we know that Scarlett is not pretty. But if a less-than-pretty actress had played that role, it would have ruined the movie. I think Vivien Leigh’s cute, subtly expressively little face goes a long way to making us love that character even as she does terrible things.

salemwench 17 years ago

I completely agree, so very melodramatic but it works!

Glinda 17 years ago

I love Goldfrapp! They trip me out sometimes, but I love them anyway.

Poochie 17 years ago

I think it is because underneath you know they (Scarlett and Rhett) are both so vulnerable and need/crave the love the other could give. But they just can’t bring themselves to admit it or ask for it. Rhett gets close once but Scarlett has made herself all hard to him to protect herself. They never get on the same page.

Luv
Poochie

Cherie 17 years ago

I so agree, it is so contrived, and yes I cried and still do! Somehow, though, my husband is immune to the emotional tugging and sees only the contrived melodrama. Oh well, he actually watches “What Not to Wear” with me, and all those decorating shows!

oakling 17 years ago

I think it’s like “trashy” books – sometimes we enjoy being emotionally manipulated, if it’s done well! Like the Greeks with their cathartic plays.

Ami Addison 17 years ago

I love the book so much that I can’t help but feel the movie is a cheap imitation. The characters in the book are so much more complex and passionate–and a lot more juicy stuff happens (in the book, Scarlett has three children–one from each husband).

That being said, every once in a while I get a hankering to see this flick and I do enjoy it for what it is–Good Old Fashioned Hollywood.

Running With Heels 17 years ago

wait until my sister hears that the manolo listens to Goldfrapp…she will have your respect in an instant and never leave your site!