I am formerly known as HillieBoliday....Member since May 2006
How would you react if you knew your pretty 8 year old daughter was a psychotic killer and a pathological liar!
In the book, Rhoda had already killed a couple of people. I don't think the father was as aware as her mother. Her parents had to keep moving from place to place to try to hide the monster that their daughter had become! They had to keep changing her schools! Every time they moved, it was because they were told Rhoda was not allowed to come back at the end of the school session.
For the time the book, the successful stage production and the movie were presented; if the parents had exposed Rhoda for the murderer she really is, they would've possibly been ostracized from society/friends, there would've been major scandal, public humiliation, a media circus and God only knows what else.
The strain of knowing her child was a monster, trying to keep it from the public, living in some denial, living with the guilt of the multiple murders committed by Rhoda; and her own complicity in not reporting her own child to the authorities.....made Christine a crazed individual herself! Her husband had to travel to earn their living and was always gone; so Christine had to bear this all by herself. Even to this day, some parents, although they don't want to admit it.....are doing double time trying to hide their psychotic children from the public....and then when they commit a heinous act, i.e. Columbine, Sandy Hook, etc., they falsely claim.....'didn't know anything was wrong!'
I think her tension, stressed, nervous filled performance conveyed a normal reaction to that tremendous turmoil in her life....excellent portrayal!
"OOhhhooo....I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"
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lrdcharlton
8 years ago
In the book, Rhoda had already killed a couple of people. I don't think the father was as aware as her mother. Her parents had to keep moving from place to place to try to hide the monster that their daughter had become! They had to keep changing her schools! Every time they moved, it was because they were told Rhoda was not allowed to come back at the end of the school session.
It wasnt as obvious as you seem to make it. They didn't think she was a monster, definitely not the father, but that she was missing something or just different. Her expulsions were for a collection of minor things, but Christine was disturbed by the incidents with the dog and the elderly women. I never knew what to make of their reaction to the elderly women. All they knew was that the old lady's daughters cold reaction towards them after her mothers death. I do not know if the women thought Rhoda killed her old lady, otherwise she would not have given he the globe. The Pennmarks definitely felt shunned but the move was not really their plan it was just luckily convenient, but it was not because of Rhoda. Christine only really dwelled on the incidents when the Claude died and the schools treatment of Rhoda after the fact.
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necoleman
8 years ago
I am formerly known as HillieBoliday....Member since May 2006
Thanks for clearing up my comment. It's been a long time since I read the book; and I was quite fuzzy on the details. They really are important to understanding how complex Rhoda was and the impact she had on her family and her environment.
I can't remember if the book describes Rhoda as the little blond haired blue eyed beauty that she is portrayed in the film. Gotta go dig out my copy📖!
"OOhhhooo....I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"
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I_Love_Hutch
8 years ago
I think it's clear. Christine knows in the deepest part of her gut that something is wrong here. Very wrong. It's extremely subtle, but it's there allright. This is the mother's natural instinct and Nancy Kelly conveys the instinct with terrifying conviction.
Christine knows in her most worried and panicked heart of hearts that the daughter that she loves so very much is a cold-blooded serial killer. And it did not take Claude Daigel's death to begin to open Christine's eyes to what was happening at a whole other level. At the Fern School picnic at the beginning, Christine asks Miss Fern about Rhoda "Yes, but as a person, how does she fit in with the other children? Is she popular?" This is not an idle line of questioning going on here. She is clearly worried and the effect is pure omen. It's a very subtle feeling at the beginning, but Christine KNOWS... And Nancy Kelly plays her part with a kind of heartbreaking terror and that hand being brought down violently on the piece of furniture is the culmination of her really quite emotionally brilliant performance. The dramatic precision that Nancy Kelly illustrates the exact high key moment of total hysteria with is absolute and final. "Could it be any worse than that... and now she is DRIVING ME MAD!!! I get chills every time I watch her do it. It is absolutely riveting.
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rascal67
8 years ago
Christine knows in the deepest part of her gut that something is wrong here. Very wrong. It's extremely subtle, but it's there allright. This is the mother's natural instinct and Nancy Kelly conveys the instinct with terrifying conviction.
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You know Mr. H, as much as I enjoy The Bad Seed and the performances, I don't go with the notion of a child being born bad, like this sensational film depicts or endorses. Being the cynic I am, I think that is just a cop-out and comes down to a lack of parental responsibility, projection of unrealistic expectations and a lack of "genuine" concern for how one's child can turn out. Christine would have been a narcissist herself.
The extreme sociopathic qualities that Rhoda possessed made for a heightened and interesting character; but to my mind, if Rhoda did turn out the way she did—I realize some people can be opportunists and I put much of this down to role model conditioning and also environment—if I were to feel instinctual about this situation, Christine would have had a large helping hand in how her daughter turned out. Kelly acting out her character and scenario was believable as it was written; but her "decent" character as a mother of a soulless daughter doesn't gel with me.
Exorcist: Christ's power compels you. Cast out, unclean spirit.
Destinata:💩
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