Splendor in the Grass (1960)

There are many films made in the 1960’s, when viewed today seem to be dated and unrealistic.   Elia Kazan’s at the time searing portrait of pious sexual repression, “Splendor in the Grass”, is one such film.   I find it even hard to believe that viewers from 1961 would have found it relevant.    The film deals with the coming of age tribulations of teenagers growing up during the roaring 20’s in Mid America.    There is the son of a rich oil baron Bud (Warren Beatty in his film debut) and his gorgeous good girl friend Deanie (the adorable Natalie Wood).     Wood’s worrying mother warns her about going too far with Bud and Bud wants to get married so that he can get laid.  At least with his girlfriend.   His father wants him to fool around with less pure girls so that he can go to university and meet good girls within a rich social circle.   Meanwhile being close to the magnetic Wood drives him crazy with lust and Beatty goes through the entire film with a constant look of pain.   Poor kid.    These high strung emotions basically drive the two kids into various stages of mental anguish.    Kazan, who made powerful and truly explosive films in the 50’s (A streetcar named Desire, On the Waterfront), here tries to make something noble and insightful out of a silly story that concerns some pretty ordinarily and uninteresting characters.    I have no problem watching movies about ordinary people, as long as the portrayals being shown are realistic and contain depth.    Here they are fantastical and shallow.    I have never known a teenager who act like the characters in this movie.    Woods is adorable but Beatty made me want to cringe with his over the top performance of a miserable kid.   He seemed genuinely miserable throughout the film, but I could never understand why.    The girl he loves also loves him and he had all the money in the world.  Poor guy’s Father wants him to get an education and all he wants to do is be a farmer.      The film teeters on the brink of tragedy and its feeble attempts to play with my emotions were irritating to say the least.     The film does contain one brave scene as Bud’s troubled sister Virginia demands attention at the expense of her own dignity and pride resulting in a party scene where the reference of a gang rape is not only made but emphasized.    Kazan gives this scene dark and realistic undertones that gave me food for thought on the dangers of sexual repression, which is the main theme of the movie.       Unfortunately the rest of the film is not so brave but just a tepid badly written Hollywood melodrama