GERALDINE PAGE 
as Mrs. Carrie Watts in THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL (1985)
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Carrie Watts is living the twilight of her life trapped in an apartment in 1940's Houston, Texas with a controlling daughter-in-law and a hen-pecked son. Her fondest wish -- just once before she dies -- is to revisit Bountiful, the small Texas town of her youth which she still refers to as "home." The trouble is her son, Ludie, is too concerned for her health to allow her to travel alone and her petty daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae, insists they don't have money to squander on bus tickets.


"I guess when you've lived longer than your house and your family, then you've lived long enough."
                                         - Mrs Carrie Watts

Geraldine Page received her eighth Oscar nomination and her first win, for her unforgettable and poignant portrait of an elderly widow who wants nothing more out of life than to return to her home town of Bountiful. The first time, Geraldine Page appears on screen in The trip to bountiful, we desperately fall in love with her. Seeing this elderly woman, with a great determination and a great heart, full of melancholia on screen is mesmerizing. Geraldine Page carries the film on her shoulders and gives to Mrs Carrie Watts the necessary incandescence to portray the role admirably. She gives to the film her greatness. She brings to her character the innocence it needed. Her scenes with her beloved son are heartbreaking, and those with her daughter-in-law, brilliantly played by Carlin Glynn, are funny, amusing and cynical, it’s a great balance between the two. 
Escaping from her family's clutches, Page boards a bus to Bountiful, where she makes the acquaintance of young Rebecca DeMornay. The two women immediately hit it off, and their trip is a most pleasant one. In the bus, she tells her story about love, her husband, and the true love of her life, and this scene is probably one of the two scenes who gave her the edge in the Oscar competition. The other, is the one at the bus station, when she expresses her feelings to the sherrif. She’s at 12 miles from her destination, but she is stopped by the sherrif, because her family will arrive to bring her back. The scene is very emotional, from despair to anger: It's a moving moment. Feeling sorry for Page, Bradford permits her to complete her sentimental journey, even though he knows full well that Bountiful is now a ghost town.It doesn't matter, though: Page sees Bountiful, and for the first time in years she is truly happy and at peace with herself. Those last scenes give the greatness she deserved to finish the movie.  


"In this small, sharply observed tale from Horton Foote, the great Geraldine Page plays an elderly widow, who longs to go back to her idyllic small-town roots; shapeless, the film is mostly a showcase for its actors."
                                                                                               - Emanuel Levy

Geraldine Page gives in The Trip to bountiful a wonderful performance, full of joy, sadness and nostalgic. She’s convincing and gives us one of the most beloved character than audience has ever seen on screen. 

★★★

4 comments:

  1. I'm soooo glad Whoopi is winning. Anyway, I love this performance as well and I'm always so mad when people are bashing her and calling her one of the worst winner. That's repulsive. She's brilliant.

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  2. Nobody can deny Whoopi's performance, she's easily my pick, but Geraldine Page is also a deserving winner.

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  3. I adore this performance to death! It's among my favorite Oscar wins of all time, though I haven't seen Whoopi, Jessica, or Anne yet. Page is slowly becoming one of my favorite actresses, for sure.

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  4. One of my favorite performances in this category! For me, among the best of the best!

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