Mommie Dearest - Movie Review Example

MOMMIE DEAREST – An Argumentative Essay The movie Mommie Dearest is based on the real life story of the relationship between Joan Crawford, the 1930sscreen star and her adopted daughter Christina Crawford. The movie unearths how Joan Crawford, who wants to adopt a child as she feels that her life is meaningless without a child, treats her adopted daughter and how as a child, an adolescent and an adult women Christina undergoes a lot of humiliation, ill-treatments and even physical assaults from her adoptive mother. In the beginning of the movie the audience gets the impression that Joan Crawford’s decision to adopt Christina comes out of her genuine desire and need, especially when she reveals her romantic lover, the Hollywood lawyer, Greg Savitt that a child can fill the void in her life. But as the movie proceed the spectators begin to doubt her real motives and towards the end of the movie, instead of being sympathetic to her, the spectators develop a taste of hatred towards her when they know for certain that she adopts Christina not out of any motherly or humanitarian concerns but to gain publicity and professional career development. Thus, the movie, as it develops, shows how villainous Joan becomes and how Catherine has to undergo the consequences silently- she proves to be a victim of adoption, a victim to all the outrages, humiliation, physical and mental outbreaks of Joan Crawford. One can notice a gradual development in the plot of the movie regarding the relationship between the two Crawfords. The plot takes many essential twists- as their warm and amicable relationship in the beginning turns out to be one of constant arguments, quarrels and hatred later. Joan lavishes Christina with a lot of attention and luxuries but on the other hand she never gives Christina the individual freedom of speech and expression, she always wants Christina to remain as a puppet as per her strict orders to enhance her public image .She enforces strict code of denial and discipline upon Jane, even when she was a small child. For instance, the scene after her birthday party shows how Jane is much more motivated by her public image than her love for her step daughter. She decides to donate all but one of Christina’s birthday presents to an orphanage and makes sure that it is documented by the press. Jane has to bear the consequent mental agony in her childish mind; she is thus victimized here for Jane’s attempt to gain public applause. Later, in the movie we find Catherine reacting and rebelling with her mother for her unwanted demands and false actions of public image. Thus a series of confrontations take place between the two, which act as the core of the movie. Jane is never ready to make any compromises and her alcoholism, perfectionism and abusive behavior adds to the frustration and torments of Catherine. The swimming pool scene is a good instance when the audience understands how dominating and powerful Joan is to her daughter. In the beginning of the movie we see how much Jane is obsessed with cleanliness when we find her getting ready to go to the studio: she washes her face with soap and hot water: then plunges it immediately in to ice with alcohol. Joan’s alcoholism is major factor behind her out breaks: she at times turns to be hysterical and abnormal. The role of Jane Crawford is splendidly acted out by Faye Dunaway: it is ironic that Jane Crawford, the real actress, who acted the role of the self- sacrificing mother in the movie “Mildred Pierce”, turns out to be the sole hysteric villain in Mommie Dearest: “The movie is a bizarre and fragmented collection of scenes showcasing little but mass hysteria , as the audience watches one of Hollywood’s biggest and brightest stars descend ever- so-deeply in to a realm seeped in self – indulgence and radically destructive reaction. It is an amateurish and distorted argument , in which Crawford herself emerges not as a human being but the typical one dimensional Movie villain.” (David, Keys. 2003) Christina , all through out the movie, remains as a submissive character; the spectator feels sympathy as well as empathy for her .she suppresses all her emotions and these pent up feelings break out only once in the movie – the scene where Christina accuses Joan of adopting her children simply to give her free publicity . As it is heard by a reporter, Joan’s ego is roused ; she slaps Christina several times and drags her through the floor and attempts to choke her to death .Thus her single attempt to raise voice against her adoptive mother fails and she leads a doomed life where her individuality emotion, feelings and opinion are not listened to .This is very well put by Frederic and Marry Ann Bryssat when they state t hat “ Every child has a legitimate need to be noticed , understood, taken seriously, and respected…. The film exposes a woman who obviously wanted to be a loving mother but turned in to a wicked witch.” (Frederic., and Brussat. Marry Ann). Thus, we find Christina always subject herself to a lot of emotional as well as physical turbulences. Justice and human consideration are denied to Christina by her mother. She is scolded, humiliated and beaten even for minor things. The scene where Christina tries to imitate Joan by putting her own make ups, must have made any mother laugh. But Joan becomes furious; she even goes to the extent of cutting her hair with a pair of scissors. The most notorious scene in the movie, known as the wire hanger scene makes the audience convinced of Christina’s victimization and the spectators start doubting about the mental sanity of Joan. Joan comes to Christina’s bedroom at midnight and finds one of Christina’s dresses handing on a wire hanger, which she had forbidden the child to do. Joan becomes hysterical; she shouts at Christina, beats her and literally makes hell of the situation. The particular scene shocks the audience and the phrase “No Wire Hangers Ever!!!” has become one of the key trade marks of the movie. The spectator very often fails to see any kind of motherly affection in her deeds. That is why Joan is described as,” a woman obsessed who never really know how to be a mother.” (Dirks Tim. 2007). Thus, all throughout the movie, John behaves like a woman, obsessed, like a maniac who doesn’t care for familial relations; a woman who is not affected by any soft, tender feelings of a mother. Instead, she is projected as the villain of a suspense thriller, who always keeps the audience in awe, surprise and shock. Joan’s relationship with others also needs to be examined and this juncture. Her relationship with her Secretary, Carol Ann and the housekeeper, Helga, also is very much problematic. She is guided by her own ego, pride and public image and she never wants to succumb to anyone. The spectator is not shocked because of her number of marriages and divorces: this comes as a result of her never conquerable and never compromising behavior. Even when her latest husband, the CEO of Pepsi Company (Alfred Steele ) dies, Joan is not moved ; she is only worried about her share in the Company and she even threatens to collapse the Company with her publicity. Her character traits, undoubtedly attributes her right title of the villain in the movie. Even after her death, her will proves to be villainous in the life of Christina and her other adopted son, Christopher, when she disinherits both of them from her possessions. It is believed that “it may have been this posthumous act of rejection rather than an alleged lifetime of parental abuse that inspired Christine Crawford to pen her scathing autobiography “Mummie Dearest” (Mommie Dearest), on which the move is screened. Thus Christina is negated of her deserved right to own the possession of her adoptive mother. The issue of adoption and how much Christina’s faith to be a victim of her mother’s ill-treatment is resulted from the fact that Joan wasn’t her biological mother also deserves our attention. Studies have proved that adopted children face a greater degree of parental neglect, humiliation and abuse than biological children. There is sufficient reason for the spectator to come to the conclusion that Christina can never come out of her shackles because she has internalized the truth that she is only an adopted child. This inferiority complex pulls her back from asserting herself. John, on the other hand, fails to fulfill the duties of an adoptive parent. The adoptive parent has the same responsibility as that of a biological parent, to care for the need of the child. Joan does not perform the responsibility of an adoptive parent; instead she caused a lot of mental as well as physical harm to her adopted children. Her making of the will is clear evidence that she never loved her adopted child, Christina or wanted to secure Christina’s life after her own death. The very concept of motherhood is quite alien to the character of Joan Crawford; maybe because she couldn’t give birth to a child herself. The spectators do feel a kind of sympathy towards her during the initial part of the movie. But by adopting two children and not caring for them, she proves to be ridiculous in her attempt, even though she enjoys the fame and publicity of the outer world. The disparity between her public life and private life is so huge that she is able to fake herself as a perfect mother and protector of the poor in front of the public. But when it comes to her relationship with the daughter, she is a maniac, alcoholic, disciplinarian, quarrelsome, abusive and even inhuman. Because of her constant fits of anger and violent outbreaks and the subsequent suffering of Christina, the movie appears to be a painful experience for Roger Ebert: “ Mummie dearest is a painful experience that drones on endlessly, as Crawford’s relationship with her daughter, Christina, disintegrates from cruelty through jealousy into pathos. It is unremittingly depressing, not to any purpose or entertainment.” (Ebert, Roger. 1981). The psychological factors regarding the love-hate relationship between the two are not pictured well in the movie. We find Christina always gloomy and isolated but the thought process that goes on in her mind is left for the audience to guess. Even as a baby, Christina displays some knowledge of the peculiar character of Joan and behaves accordingly, but such an understanding lacks in John’s behavior and outlook. This is what Roger Ebert means when he says “ Baby Christina tries to do the right thing, tries to be a good girl, tries to please Mummy, but Mummy is a maniac- depressive who alternate between brief triumphs and long savage traits, infecting her daughter with resentment and guilt.” (Ebert, Roger. 1981). All the attempts made by Christina to make their relationship sound fail due to the negativistic approach of Joan. She doesn’t allow Christina to think individually or to develop herself in her own way. She treats Christina not as a human child whom she has adopted to be her own daughter, but as a precious diamond, which she has bought and is at her disposal to be done anything with. To conclude the movie ‘Mummie Dearest’ pictures the character of Joan Crawford as the villain whereas the character of Christina falls as a victim to the villainous actions of her mother. The spectator knows for certain that the only thing Joan does well is acting. As suggested by Joan Edward Kilduff “Joan was only acting a role of a caring mother…. Inside her house she was another beast entirely with young Christina” (Mummie Dearest (1981) (Fast rewind with us. 2007). Christina proves herself to be a victim in all respects – she fails to continue her studies, doesn’t get the love or possession of her mother, cannot make any healthy relationship with others, and is always tormented by her mother for no reasons. There are many who believe that the actual life details narrated by Christina in her book “ Mummie Dearest” is an exaggerated tale and it is still more exaggerated in the movie to bring about theatrical effects. But one can never justify the atrocities and cruelties done by Joan to her adopted daughter. . Works Cited Keyes, David. 2003. Mommie Dearest. 23 Apr 2007. . Frederic., and Brussat. Marry Ann. 2006. Film Reviews. Mommie Dearest. Spirituality and Practice. 23 Apr 2007. . Dirks Tim. 2007. Great Moments and Scenes from the Greatest Films. 23 Apr 2007. . Mommie Dearest. Movies Information. Answers.com. All media Guide 2006 . Ebert, Roger. 1981. Mommie Dearest. 23 Apr. 2007. . Fast rewind with us. Movies Rewind. 23 Apr. 2007. . Read More