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spoiler--Can someone condemn the mother in this movie

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

What was with the mother in this movie?? She had very loose morals throughout this entire movie. First with all the drinking and parties, wanting to prostitute her daughter and then to leave Willie to live in that condemned property...who does that??
Owen came along and Alva finally had a chance to get herself out of that life she was living and her mother had to ruin that for her also by telling Owen that Alva had married. We were so happy when Alva went out and found Owen and would finally be happy.
How sad that Alva died at the end.
We enjoyed the movie but the ending was disappointing how Willie was just left on her own to live in that condemned property.

Keep watching!

The Movie Chics

[–] muddywolfe 19 years ago

Sure, the mother wasn't worth shooting. She was obviously jealous of the beautiful young Alva and, of course, Alva was her meal ticket.

Willie, on the other hand, wasn't going to be a beauty like Alva so, in her mother's eyes, she was just excess baggage.

Everyone on that property was condemned.

[–] mamanash2003 19 years ago

That's the point- everyone in the movie is condemned. Typical Tennesse Williams. The movie came from a one-act play that was somewhat different from the movie. The only two characters in the play were Willie and the boy. She talked about her family. Her mother did leave her, Alva died, and her dad was somewhere drunk. Everyone is condemned. My daughter and I have watched this movie together probably over 100 times. She even used part of the play to audition for some of her acting roles. It is the best movie ever!!!!

[–] wowcharlie3 18 years ago

I absolutely wanted to KILL that woman!! But worse, what could Alva have been thinking to mail Willie that postcard in the first place?!! Of course that old b*tch Hazel was going to get her hands on it!!

[–] greenacres_sunny 18 years ago

I loved this movie. I love Natalie Wood. Wood and Robert Redford did a fantastic job. At the end of the movie, Willie tells the boy that Alva's lungs got infected the day her mother visted Alva and Owen. That's how she died. I was left thinking that Owen didn't forgive Alva about marrying JJ. And the mother didn't care what happened to either of her daughters, since Willie was left homeless. I wonder how she would survive? I was wondering if Alva was loose morally like her mother was.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] xChelseax 17 years ago

I agree! The mother in this movie made me so angry ... I wanted to reach through the screen and choke her! Still, this is one of my favorite movies of all time

[–] Vighor73 16 years ago

I just stumbled upon this movie recently and quite enjoyed it, even though I felt that it was wrapped up kinda in a haste. I also kept thinking, if someone is shooting a remake of it, that could be perfect for Lindsay Lohan. Being forced to be a "social whore" by her mother, rebelling for a new life but ending up a trainwreck... Talk about parallel lives! Dina Lohan will give Alva's mom a run for her money!

[–] out-of-towner 14 years ago

Natalie's mother in this movie is just as bad as her mother in "Splendor in the Grass". The two mothers are complete opposites of each other, but they are both terrible mothers who completely ruin their daughters lives.

[–] Davejohnson316 14 years ago

I have not seen that movie but I have seen Gypsy before watching this and it also features an overbearing mother who uses her daughters sexuality for her own benefit. In that movie I can't say that the mother only wanted to do right by her daughter, rather she wanted things for herself, I didn't feel that she didn't love her daughter.

In this movie I felt that the mother hated Alva and the prostituting was her form of punishing her beautiful daughter. The mothers speech about how her father left her with a spoiled brat. There's alot of jealousy, I imagine that the mother wasn't a great beauty at that age and to see her daughter be dotted on by her father pushed her over the edge.

[–] jobla 13 years ago

To me, the real tragedy of the piece is Willie. She tells the boy in the beginning that she has dropped out of school, so she probably doesn't have much of a future in store. She will probably grow up to look more plain, like her mother, and will probably end up living much like her mother did.

[–] Diamond97 12 years ago

I felt really sad for Willie. I wonder if Owen ever thought about Willie.

However, this was a great movie, and I always enjoy watching it!

[–] say_y 12 years ago

I'm optimistic to think that maybe Owen will think of Willie and check up on her one day, and realizing that she's all alone, take her in and raise her. He probably thinks she's with her mother but if he knew, I know he'd care enough to bring her back with him. I think any moral person who had the financial capacity would, and it's not like she's a baby, she doesn't need 24/7 attention, she just needs someone who'll love and provide and make sure she goes to school.

[–] Diamond97 12 years ago

You know, I wonder if the mother had enough decency to tell Owen the truth after Alva died. That the only reason Alva married JJ was because Alva was drunk, devastated, and wanted revenge on her for lying to Owen about Alva going to Memphis.

It's sad if Owen never found out the truth.

Also, I hope he thinks about Alva from time to time as well.

[–] Prismark10 12 years ago

The mother certainly deserved condemnation!

Its that man again!!

[–] Loomis_Orange 12 years ago

That kind of thing happened every day and is still happening every day. Desperate middle aged women who need a man are willing to sacrifice their own beautiful daughters in order to keep a man around for mama. Mothers who sell their children for sex in order to buy drugs and whatever else they'rre hooked on. It's in the news every day. This story line was quite controversial in it's time. Tennessee Williams never backed off from perversions in human relationships. Twisted human nature.. blood curdling internal screams of desperate agony H E L P M E

[–] 12 years ago

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