*possible spoilers*
I understand that, like any other movie from the 1950s, that this one tends to the clean and sentimental side. This screenplay has a few changes from the original stage production, putting emphasis on different things, and the portrayal of Anne was completely shallow and typical (which was definitely what Anne Frank was NOT). Before us we see a changed Anne Frank, one of whose favourite activities seems to be staring at her surroundings with a vacant look in her made-up eyes, or staring at Peter and waiting for him to kiss her again. She has no depth at all, this girl, reading off her deep insights into human nature with a cute drawl and a classic film-star pout as if she were made of wood, with little or no appropriate emotion. Yes, she has emotion, but when she says anything, it's as if she's emphasizing words at random to add some flavour to her acting, and really has no idea what she's talking about. This girl doesn't understand the intelligence and deep insight that her character is supposed to have, doesn't know the endless thinking and anguish Anne went through to come to the place where she could accept her situation without flinching. This one doesn't have a problem with accepting her situation, for the sole reason that she doesn't seem to get it in the first place.
Don't get me wrong, this movie wasn't BAD. It would have been okay, if it were standing on its own, but somewhere during its making the real Anne Frank got lost. For everyone who has read the real diary, this is only a shadow, one layer, of what that book really was.
I understand that, like any other movie from the 1950s, that this one tends to the clean and sentimental side. This screenplay has a few changes from the original stage production, putting emphasis on different things, and the portrayal of Anne was completely shallow and typical (which was definitely what Anne Frank was NOT). Before us we see a changed Anne Frank, one of whose favourite activities seems to be staring at her surroundings with a vacant look in her made-up eyes, or staring at Peter and waiting for him to kiss her again. She has no depth at all, this girl, reading off her deep insights into human nature with a cute drawl and a classic film-star pout as if she were made of wood, with little or no appropriate emotion. Yes, she has emotion, but when she says anything, it's as if she's emphasizing words at random to add some flavour to her acting, and really has no idea what she's talking about. This girl doesn't understand the intelligence and deep insight that her character is supposed to have, doesn't know the endless thinking and anguish Anne went through to come to the place where she could accept her situation without flinching. This one doesn't have a problem with accepting her situation, for the sole reason that she doesn't seem to get it in the first place.
Don't get me wrong, this movie wasn't BAD. It would have been okay, if it were standing on its own, but somewhere during its making the real Anne Frank got lost. For everyone who has read the real diary, this is only a shadow, one layer, of what that book really was.