This is one of the films which you have to see, simply because it's such a superbly made movie, and it's fine if you want to shrug it off, later on, as sentimentality without substance. It's emotionally compelling, acted to a crisp all around, filmed beautifully, and although there really isn't all that much to it (it's not a film that raises questions, but it didn't set out to raise questions), you're in good hands from the beginning, and can settle back for some old-fashioned story-telling.
The late Jane Wyman's performance won her a very deserved Oscar, and although the film is quite sentimental in places, and tends to tie up all the lose ends a little too tidily, if you can put aside your twenty-first century cynicism for a little while and let the film spin the yarn for you, you'll be absorbed and carried along with emotional satisfaction.
Mostly you just have to see it for all the superlative acting, and the eloquence of Wyman's silence, which is a stunning tour-de-force.
The late Jane Wyman's performance won her a very deserved Oscar, and although the film is quite sentimental in places, and tends to tie up all the lose ends a little too tidily, if you can put aside your twenty-first century cynicism for a little while and let the film spin the yarn for you, you'll be absorbed and carried along with emotional satisfaction.
Mostly you just have to see it for all the superlative acting, and the eloquence of Wyman's silence, which is a stunning tour-de-force.