While her role isn't as flashy as Annie and Helen, I think Inga Swenson's Mrs. Keller is a marvel of subtlty. the love she projects is profoundly moving and its a shame that this wonderful actress missed the spectacular career her talent should have afforded her.
Dale
Subtilty? While she is a fine actress, there was nothing subtle about her performance in this film. With the exception of Patty Duke, who did a wonderful job, everyone in this film over acted. This has always been a favorite of mine, and I`m still fond of it years later, but if anything WAS needed in the performances, it was subtlety.
shareJust think about how YOU might have reacted in her situation? I still think her acting was much more restrained than some Hollywood actresses would have read it. Thank God it wasn't Susan Hayward! Her "Helen!" "Helen!" accompanied by what must have been painful finger snaps reverberates in my memory even now.
Dale
I agree, alxnrth.
Inga projects a mother's tentative gratitude at the realization that her child will survive just moments before recognizing Helen's true condition. She then painfully portrays the horror Mrs. Keller must've experienced upon discovering her daughter was left both blind and deaf by her illlness.
I thought Swenson expressed the dichotomy between relief and grief extremely well, especially since both of those emotions arose in the space of less than a minute.
The frantic snapping of the fingers, the terror in her eyes - this was NOT a time for subtlety!
I'm with thurber. The tendency towards what IMO is pushed to melodrama, or at least histrionics, caused me to retreat, rather than be drawn in. Inga did a superb job until she was pushed (or so it seems) at particular moments to amplify her character. I found myself being drawn in and then thrust back again by the extremes that punctuated an otherwise subtle but articulate performance.
(PRN) – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id-bFpYQzXE
I agree with this. She was perfectly fine when not pushed to do much, throughout the majority of the film, but her emotional scenes were awful, they were very emotional moments admittedly but she still overacted them. Big time. It wasn't a very good performance.
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