All of sudden...
They get to keep the child...your joyous...There's some nice scenes of a birthday and a school play, and then she's DEAD!! What the hell, that came out of left field.
share..just like in real life.
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MovieChat Forums > Penny Serenade (1941) Discussion > All of sudden...
I much preferred it that way. Would it really have been better if in every scene the child was in she had a little cough or sniffle to clue slower audience members in that the child is often ill. Uh-oh, something might happen so stay tuned, folks. That's the way sloppy foreshadowing is done 99% of the time in movies and TV. I'd much rather have a curveball from left field.
sharepersonally I saw it coming from a mile away. when the little girl started talking about needing sneakers and having a backstage role in the play I had a feeling she would fall. which she did! although she didn't die right then, that was a surprise. but I knew she certainly wouldn't make it to adulthood.
shareThis is my absolute favorite movie. One of the reasons I love it is because Trina's death is so unexpected (the first time I watched it, I did not realize the "I'll be an angel next year" line from Trina was prophetic). I think this movie is akin to real life. When children die, it is overwhelmingly painful and sometimes a couple becomes isolated from each other in their grief. The beauty of the movie is that Roger and Julie really love each other, and they realize that even though they can not replace Trina, they can give another child their love. When a couple truly loves each other, the ultimate expression of that love is a child and I think this movie expresses this idea beautifully. My cousin and her husband can not have children, so they have adopted three children. I like the fact that adoption is so positively represented in this movie.
shareIt's the biggest event in the story, and yet, it's glossed over by LETTER.
Surely if you want to make an affecting drama, that's the moment you should be choosing to mine the most drama from?
"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"
I'll be your huckleberry...
I appreciate your perspective. However, the film is not Trina's story. The biggest "event" in the film is the impact of Trina's sudden death on Cary and Irene and their reaction to it. Their being torn apart by Trina's death is where the film begins, and it is the reason for Irene's playing old records to begin the flashback sequences that constitute most of the film. That is bookended at the end of the film by the hope represented by the possibility of adopting another child. Recalling those first couple of scenes illuminates the ending. To me Irene (and Cary, too) show love for each other that has been torn, but not rent asunder in those initial scenes. (Hence she turns to the recordings, which is mirrored in his aimless recollection and soul searching.)
The letter hits us (except for those who claim to be clairvoyant) with the same suddenness as it has Cary and Irene. In addition to being the segue between the past and the present, the final paragraph sets the tone of despair that explains the initial scenes and sets the stage for the following scenes. Whether you agree or disagree, I suspect that the filmmakers chose the letter over an actual death scene or scenes because it/they would diminish the sense of suddenness and detract from the emotional impact on Cary and Irene, the main storyline.
Just another perspective...
John 3:16
I was shocked. Shocked!
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