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Katherine Ann Porters short film adaptation of The Jilting of Granny Weatherall is widely considered as being one of the greatest classics in short filmmaking. And the reputation is far from being undeserved. Granny, (Geraldine Fitzgerald) is a matriarch who, on the last day of her life, summons up for evaluation the successes and failures of her long years. Even though she has seen it all, weathered it all, one single event in her life is the focus of the entire movie.
On her death bed she recalls the time when she was jilted by her husband to be, George. She wants so much to see him again, just to tell him that she has had a good life, a good husband, great children, and that she has forgotten him. But obviously, she has not forgotten George, reason why his name is mentioned so often in the movie. Ironically, Granny will be jilted one last time, as George does not really show up, every time he does he is either a ghost or has his back turned to Granny. The visions of Granny, both real or the result of her imagination give to the movie a sense of mystery, of depth in the plot. This is a movie that really is about symbolism.
From the beginning, there is this intense feeling that something special was about to take place. Granny was determined, even obsessed by making a white cake. The occasion, as we found out later on during the movie, was to commemorate her jilting by George who left her at the altar. This is a film that is full of symbols. Almost everything, from the expressions on the faces to even the rather somber and even sad outfits of the different characters suggests and gives to the film this depressing yet attractive appeal. The choice of colors itself by the director (Randa Haines) adds to the sad appeal of the movie.
She does a good job of reminding us that this was before anything else a very sad story even though it had some entertaining passages. We cannot help but fall in love with the performance by Geraldine Fitzgerald. Somewhat grouchy, she is yet so loveable mostly when, thinking about the past, her face lights up with such a beautiful and sincere smile. We feel so close and full of admiration for a woman whose life has been everything but easy.
Orphan when she was just making her way through young womanhood, she has had to work very hard in her life. That is certainly where she gets that almost pathological obsession for work. That worries her daughter Cornelia (Lois Smith) who, not only has a lot of admiration for her old mother but amazingly resembles her. There probably could not be a better casting for the different characters. Just by reading the expressions on the faces of the characters, we could easily describe if a situation was about joy, anger or even death. As an example, the priest standing in front of Grannys deathbed looked himself like death From that point on, it was obvious that Granny was living the last moments of her life.
It did not seem obvious at first because she was just so lively still and her memories of her dead daughter Has seemed to be so clear. When finally it was time for Granny to leave this world, the director chose to make it seem like she was not the one leaving, but she was in fact the one being left by her family and friends as they disappeared one after the other in the dark. This symbolizes that Granny was forever going to be alone, as she always has been in her lifetime. And it is full of grief that she blew out herself the last light that was symbolically keeping her alive, Ill never forgive was her one and last statement. The feelings we may have after seeing this artistic masterpiece would surely be mixed.
On one hand, we cannot help but enjoy the story itself. It keeps us involved in it, actually feeling strangely attached to the characters, wondering what would happen next. On the other hand, we have to wonder WHY? Why indeed does such a brave woman have to go through all this pain?
We have a feeling that she does not deserve such pain and suffering. Why also was she jilted one last time? Hasnt she suffered enough in her life to go to her grave with yet another heartbreak? We probably would have liked the story better if Granny finally was awarded the revenge she so much desired and obviously deserved. After a life of sacrifice, that would have been the least of the things that should have happened for her. Then again, the story may not have been the same in that case.
Maybe Katherine Ann Porters goal was to remind us that life was not always fair, that it could be in fact very cruel, even to the best amongst us. A happy ending to the story probably would have made it somewhat ordinary, when in fact it is not. That is why The Jilting of Granny Weatherall is both a literary classic and now a reference in short filmmaking. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Jilting Of Granny Weatherall
