The screenplay may seem patchy ,disjointed, and the secondary characters ( "guests " the cast and credits read)underwritten ;they often repeat the same words ; of course it's pleasant to see Boyd (who was actually Irish,not American) playing opposite Jack Hawkins after "Ben Hur" in which they did not ) share a single scene though.But the scenes with the supporting actors drag on.
But all is forgotten when miss Franklin appears:she was really a wunderkind ,a gifted child ;her career featured brilliant parts : she had already played in Jack Clayton 's "the innocents " and she was to star in "our mother's house" (Clayton 1967),and "the prime of miss Jean Brodie " (Neame ,1970 ,where she hold out on first-class actress Dame Maggie Smith in her last scene ,not a small feat ).
The rapport she has with Boyd is the gist of the movie ;their meetings down by the river or under HC Andersen 's statue ("he ended his life a lunatic"); Franklin's part is complex :may there be something Freudian between her murdered dad,a shrink ,and her a teenager ?Could the reporter -a patient of her late father- be a substitute ?Strange messages are written on the walls with chalk ; there's an impressive nightmare scene which in a way predates the denouement .An ending which leaves many question unanswered .
Gifted children are not always happy : they cannot relate to people their age (see the only scene which features teenage girls ) ; and against all odds,they may get a raw deal.
But all is forgotten when miss Franklin appears:she was really a wunderkind ,a gifted child ;her career featured brilliant parts : she had already played in Jack Clayton 's "the innocents " and she was to star in "our mother's house" (Clayton 1967),and "the prime of miss Jean Brodie " (Neame ,1970 ,where she hold out on first-class actress Dame Maggie Smith in her last scene ,not a small feat ).
The rapport she has with Boyd is the gist of the movie ;their meetings down by the river or under HC Andersen 's statue ("he ended his life a lunatic"); Franklin's part is complex :may there be something Freudian between her murdered dad,a shrink ,and her a teenager ?Could the reporter -a patient of her late father- be a substitute ?Strange messages are written on the walls with chalk ; there's an impressive nightmare scene which in a way predates the denouement .An ending which leaves many question unanswered .
Gifted children are not always happy : they cannot relate to people their age (see the only scene which features teenage girls ) ; and against all odds,they may get a raw deal.