Consecutive Oscar nominations are indicative that one is in the Academy's good graces at a specific moment in time. And at first blush, it makes sense why Eleanor Parker would receive a nomination for Detective Story - hot off the success and recognition of Caged, she play Oscar's favorite archetype (the supportive, sort-of long-suffering wife) in a prestige Warner Brothers drama that made a lot of money at the box office. While I don't mean to discredit Parker's work in the role - I do think that this is an afterglow nomination. Had she not been nominated the year prior, I imagine it'd have been tougher for her to snatch up a nomination based on the merit alone of this specific role.
It's not that Parker's work is bad. It's just fine. But what's striking about this performance is how predictably one-note it is. From the very get-go, Parker floats in, all breathy and angelic (and boy is the woman breathy!), and basically hovers on these attributes to maintain that she is in fact, a sweet, doting wife. Which is fine, I suppose - but as the film progresses and the big ole skeleton in Mary's closet is revealed, I'd have liked to have seen a more...complex characterization beyond this "sweet woman is sad" schtick.
Because, you see - Mary is a flawed person. In the scope of the film, that's not up for debate. So it's strange, in the aftermath of James finding out that Mary has a "sordid" past (I use quotations because Mary's wrongdoing here does not align with modern day ideologies, and it's a little silly seeing James freak out as much as he does), that Parker play Mary so...mechanically virtuous. Parker is so sweet that it practically permeates artificiality...so sweet that it's a little grating. The image of the "devoted wife" in old Hollywood films is one that naturally brings with it some synthetic mannerisms, but devoted wives are typically written to be "flawless". Mary, it is revealed, is fundamentally not a flawless woman, and thus I'd have appreciated a more human depiction of the character. Hints of rougher edges, like Marie's eventual transformation in Caged, would have been appreciated. Instead, Parker takes hold of this "sweet and innocent wife" image and drives it forward, even after it's revealed that Mary is not-so-innocent.
So Mary cries and cries (and cries some more), and we the viewers are shown the face of a wounded-but-still-sweet! wife. Unlike her work in Caged, this one doesn't feel nearly as genuine. And perhaps Mary isn't meant to be multi-dimensional. The size of the role is quite limited, with Mary coming in and out of the film and thus amplifies Parker's uniformity.
After all, it's telling that costar Lee Grant is technically the most lauded actress from Detective Story by awards bodies (and one of the more inspired/stranger selections for Best Actress at Cannes, but that's beside the point). That said, Grant stands out like a sore thumb, presenting some idiosyncrasies that stay with you. You want to get to know the Shoplifter, and, at the very least, she piques your interest in spite of how minimal the part is. Parker, on the other hand, has a meatier, similar sized part, and achieves little that could be seen as compelling or memorable. And with that:
We are in complete agreement here. It could have been such an interesting performance but she stays very one-note throughout the film squandering the potential of the role. Oh, and also this is a rather bad case of category fraud.
ReplyDeleteAside from the fact that her role is actually more of a supporting one, I think it's the writing that lets Parker down. In 'Caged' she was at the center of the story. Here, her character is more of a plot fulcrum used to thrust Douglas' character out of his comfort zone. Her backstory is limited and specific to the plot's needs only.
ReplyDeleteThat said, she adds some needed tenderness (and breathy melodrama) but I also like her controlled resentment of Douglas' hypocrisy in her final scene. She's powerful here and I would have liked to have seen more of this side of the character. Parker needed more to work with on this one, but I still enjoy her performance.
I have read that Eleanor Parker's role in Detective Story is the shortest role ever to be nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. Just how long is it?
ReplyDeleteEleanor Parker's third Best Actress Oscar-nominated role in 'Interrupted Melody' was a true tour de force and a return to the edgier, more multifaceted material she had in 'Caged'. Much richer and far more varied than her comparatively limited persona in 'Detective Story' (though apparently she did more with the role than was the case with the same character in the Broadway play from which the film was adapted), Parker's character in 'Interrupted Melody' -- which won the Oscar for Best Screenplay -- gave her a complex role worthy of her versatility. The same was also true of her portrayal in 'Lizzie' of a troubled young woman with Dissociative Personality Disorder, produced by her 'Detective Story' co-star Kirk Douglas. In 'Lizzie' Parker impressively delineated not one, not two, but three personalities and even impressed the great Shirley Jackson, the celebrated author of the novel 'The Bird's Nest' on which the film was based.
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