MovieChat Forums > A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Discussion > Did anyone else here think the mother wa...

Did anyone else here think the mother was nasty??? (spoiler)

posted 19 years ago by moviechics
42 replies | jump to latest

We have to say we did enjoy this movie. The father may not have been the best provider and was an alcoholic but he did love his kids and he tried to make their lives more exciting and interesting than they really were.
The mother...we think she needed a drink. Yes her husband may have been a disappointment as a family provider but he did love her and their kids completely. Even how she kept her sister out of their family's lives wasn't very nice. We did think it was so unfortunate how the mother appreciated her husband after it was too late especially when all she heard was nothing but nice things from everybody about her husband after he died.
When the little girl received the flowers that her deceased father had ordered ahead of time for her graduation definately was a three hankie weeper moment!!

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The Movie Chics

[–] brucedgo 12 years ago

She was human. Wonderfully human.

... and the rocks it pummels.
- James Berardinelli

[–] denis-38 12 years ago

Not at all nasty--pushed to the limits of her endurance married to a man who drank, didn't work and depended on his "charm" to somehow persuade his floor-scrubbing wife that life is beautiful.

I've never read the book, but every nuance of those relationships were right there on screen. The birth of her child has to be one the great scenes ever in motion pictures. Dorothy Maguire's character had her share of regrets, but she was entitled to her "hardness." If it hadn't been for her, they'd have all been living on the streets.

[–] kaydenpat 12 years ago

Hardened by marriage to a dreamer, but not nasty at all. I completely emphasized with her. Her husband was a nice guy, but nice doesn't pay the rent or support a growing family.

[–] Echo_in_big_sky 12 years ago

I don't think the mother was nasty. It's what happens when there's only one responsible adult in a marriage with children.

[To a method actor] Darling, we have a 3 day schedule. There's no time to do anything but to do it.

[–] Siriry 11 years ago

"Nasty"??? You need to read the book then maybe you'll understand the film!

Siri

Don't Make Me Have to Release the Flying Monkeys!

[–] hka-3 11 years ago

We have to say we did enjoy this movie. The father may not have been the best provider and was an alcoholic but he did love his kids and he tried to make their lives more exciting and interesting than they really were.
The mother...we think she needed a drink. Yes her husband may have been a disappointment as a family provider but he did love her and their kids completely. Even how she kept her sister out of their family's lives wasn't very nice. We did think it was so unfortunate how the mother appreciated her husband after it was too late especially when all she heard was nothing but nice things from everybody about her husband after he died.
When the little girl received the flowers that her deceased father had ordered ahead of time for her graduation definately was a three hankie weeper moment!!

One of the great things about this film is that although the father was completely lovable to us and the rest of the world, the mother explains in an understandable way why she was the way she was, and how much of a burden it was to be married to a dreamer and a drunk who barely did enough to support his family. She explained in the film that she had to work extra hard to help make a reasonably decent life and home for the family. In other words, she took up the slack when the father wasn't at his best, which was too often and if we were married to him in those days under those conditions, there's a strong possibility we would have been just like the mother.