The Misfits

Is Montgomery Clift even human? How is it that he wears old age AND A BROKEN FACE with so much grace? I was bracing myself for a painful blow as I tuned into my first post-accident Clift movie, and...I'm shocked in completely the opposite way. I could rub my face into a beauty wand, and I still couldn't look half as stunning as Monty does, shattering his face on a steering wheel. According to wikipedia, he didn't get any reconstructive work done after the accident. Suck that, plastic surgeons!

Monroe was also looking quite beautiful in this movie, despite her old age and near-morbid obesity. Normally I'd be amazed, but Monroe's miracle was fully upstaged by Clift's miracle. I actually believe she's more beautiful here than in any of her other roles, but on the other hand, Monroe never broke her face.

Hollywood miracles aside, however, The Misfits as actually a very remarkable work, albeit slow. It's the age-old tragedy of keeping the dream alive in a changing world; it's about the desperate dignity of Americana.

Arthur Miller wrote the screenplay, and it makes me wonder about the petty, slimy Italian guy who more or less plays a vaudville villain in a character landscape that is otherwise subtle and sophisticated. I wonder if Miller was thinking about Monroe's ex, Joe Dimaggio, when he wrote the hypocrite clown as a dude named Guido.