A bravura performance by Jean Simmons as a wife and mother who re-thinks her whole existence and realizes that some endings aren't going to be all that happy. She's been married for 15 years to tax attorney John Forsythe, has a teenage daughter, a house in the suburbs, a maid...and she hates it all. Abandoning the family for a trip to Nassau, Simmons reevaluates her life and realizes that she's right, it stinks. She's heartbreaking and never less than true. Writer/director Richard Brooks infuses this movie with a lot of acrid observations of life AND married life. There are very few characters in the film that do not espouse what they think is the definitive meaning of it all. Simmons gives a career best performance with a seemingly odd supporting cast all doing great work: Dick Shawn as one of Forsythe's more philosophical clients; Nanette Fabrey as Simmon's practical maid; Tina Louise as Shawn's disillusioned wife. A very good Shirley Jones shows up at the film's mid-point to teach some real life lessons to Simmons. The film is not without its flaws. There is a pretty dim first fifteen minutes of a supposedly young Simmons & Forsythe courting (other actors are not used, so what we're seeing is actually a bit confusing). Bobby Darin (billed, for some reason, as Robert) has a really disposable cameo as a would-be gigolo. Minor flaws. Brooks is a great director and makes a very adult drama. Finally, it's Simmons's movie all the way. It's a brilliant performance.
Review of The Happy Ending
