Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

Directed by Robert Mulligan. Starring Natalie Wood, Christopher Plummer, Robert Redford, Ruth Gordon, Katharine Bard, Roddy McDowall, Betty Harford, Peter Helm.

Tomboy-ish trailer trash Wood (talk about miscasting on the premise) dreams of becoming an actress, miraculously gets her shot, becomes jaded immediately, ends up marrying a closeted gay actor (Redford), sticking her mom in a loony bin, and suffering a nervous breakdown. Initially takes a kitchen sink realism approach, takes a hard right turn to showbiz fantasy, strains for serious drama and penetrating industry critique, and then it’s back to silliness for an “explosive” head-in-the-oven finale! Unfocused, to say the least; emotions ring false, recycled backstage melodrama moments are stale, and performances vary in general quality and are in general uninteresting (Redford either doesn’t want to play his character as a homosexual or doesn’t understand how to, since nothing in his caddish portrayal suggests he’s anything more than a playboy with transient appetites). A flop when released, both commercially and critically, yet the studio must have backed it aggressively since it managed to earn several Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. Alan J. Pakula produced.

33/100