Deborah Kerr, Edward, My Son

as EVELYN BOULT

Before she'd go into the annals of Academy Award history as one of those respected actors who're frequently-nominated-but-never-actually-won-an-Oscar, Deborah Kerr made her first appearance on the Oscar Best Actress shortlist for Edward, My Son. And boy, what role could be more appropriate to mark her mainstream Hollywood debut than that of the long-suffering wife?

As is typically the case with these kinds of roles, Kerr's Evelyn Boult is much more befitting for the Supporting category. The film is so squarely keyed in on Spencer Tracy and whatever he's doing for the benefit of his unseen son that Kerr/Evelyn is really only there to be an accoutrement to the drama. That said, I was impressed by how Kerr found a way to vividly make an impact in the few instances when she's around (though in all honesty, I imagine outshining the typically passable Spencer Tracy in a stuffy stage drama can't be that difficult a challenge.) But watching her, it's as if Kerr knew just how small her role was and made it a point to really, truly milk the role as much as feasibly possible. In her first few appearances, I was impressed by the pops of fire she showcased and how invested she was in Evelyn's overt maternal tendencies.

I imagine it'd be easy to make 'worried-and-caring mom' a cliché, but Kerr really plays up all facets of this archetype. Kerr's all-in strategy creates a pretty theatrical performance across the board, in a manner that is for better and for worse -- following a superb throwdown with Tracy, the once innocuous, caring Evelyn eventually transitions into a jaded alcoholic, and that's certainly a crazy sight to see. Kerr's ideation of "drunk" is so frenzied and over-the-top that I almost found it off-putting. She's extremely theatrical in her final, long scene, and donning a whitened wig she's practically the antithesis of her earlier work in the film -- that is to say, it's apparent she's putting in loads of effort here, but it's not a very good result. The transformation is shocking, and Kerr is actually pretty heartbreaking as she messily slurs her way through her words, but I think it might've been a bit more impactful had she toned it down a few notches in such a pivotal scene. Overall, Kerr is a good and bad sensation here; I can see how she caught the attention of the Academy in this role, and in the hands of a lesser actress it may have ended up duller than it did. Solid and eye-catching, but worth a nomination? Hard to say.

For now, though I may very well bump up to a three upon further reflection.