The thing is: Jennifer Jones was in no way the greatest actress of her era. Five career nominations maybe sound very promising but looking at her work with a distance of almost 70 years, it is very recognizable that she had a tendency for a certain melodrama that was maybe very different from the typical melodrama of the 40s but could still be rather distracting. While actresses like Greer Garson or Joan Crawford liked to use the melodrama in their acting by starring in the open space and changing their voices into decisive whispers, Jennifer Jones often tended to overdo a certain ‘mysteriousness’ in her work, as if her characters always hid a dark secret but without ever exploring this any further and that way ending up flat and pale instead of deep and interesting. Because of that, her acting style mostly benefitted characters that actually did hide such a secret, that were defined by a mystery – but were also rather simple and ordinary at the same time, their feet on the ground and the head in the clouds. If Jennifer Jones found the right balance between this mystery and normality then she could shine like few other actresses – that’s why her work in The Song of Bernadette is one of the most fulfilling meetings of actress and character in the history of Hollywood. And shouldn’t this also be true for Love Letters? After all, Jennifer Jones played a woman who suffers from amnesia and has maybe killed a man while she also falls in love with Joseph Cotton who in turn has written various love letters to her in the past – but not for himself but for one of his friends who was not so eloquent with words and is also the man whom Jennifer Jones apparently killed. Sounds maybe very complicated but the final result is a tame and often disappointing and exaggerated, typical melodrama from the 40s which may try to pep up its plot with different ‘shocking’ aspects but is essentially an average love story. So, Love Letters and the character of Singleton both sound much more interesting than they actually are – but how much did Jennifer Jones actually do with this character? Did she surrender to the weakness of the script or was she able to use her talent for crafting mysterious and arcane characters and overcame the surrounding obstacles and rose above the material she had been given?
Well, the answers is somewhere in the middle. As expected, Jennifer Jones used her strange screen presence wisely whenever she expressed Singleton’s thoughts and worries about her past life, about what might have been and her fear of exposing her own secrets. But the structure of the movie also lead her to exaggerating her acting style and also using it in moments when it was not truly needed. Therefore, she often felt rather lost and inconvenient in some scenes – but also extremely captivating and intriguing in others. Right at the start, Jennifer Jones made it obvious that her performance is supposed to embody the mystery that defines her character – her delivery of the line ‘Just Singleton’ with which she informs Alan that not only her character but even her name is a secret, is spoken with her distinctive rich voice that could so beautifully realize that strangeness of the women she played. But this moment is also the first example of how she also failed in this role – she lacks the needs subtlety in this scene to make it truly captivating. As it is, Love Letters pushes her to make the obvious even more obvious and that way overdoing it to the point at which she almost contradicts her own intentions with the part. If Love Letters had given her more time to slowly establish her character and her thoughts like The Song of Bernadette, then Jennifer Jones might have been truly satisfying in this part – but as it stands, Love Letters demands too much in too little time. But it also has to be said that Jennifer Jones herself, too, adds to the problems in this performance simply by not finding a truly engaging balance most of the time. This is especially true for her next scene which completely destroys the first impression that Jennifer Jones was so keen to create because she plays this scene with a ‘teenage girl next door’ sentimentality, a combination of girlish giggles and playful behavior. But what may seem like a true failure at first actually develops very soon because after a while Jennifer Jones actually begins to improve noticeably and somehow this scene begins to work because it shows that Jennifer Jones does not completely want to rest on the mysteries surrounding Singleton but actually wants to demonstrate that, behind the mystery, there is a simple woman with simple desires. She also knows how to use her charm and her chemistry with Joseph Cotton creates the right tension for this second, more detailed meeting – the way she teases Alan for not remembering her and also displaying that Singleton feels a little bit ashamed for her amnesia but is not afraid to admit it at the same time works very well. In those moments, when Jennifer Jones is allowed to take hold of her character and uses her own screen presence to create these moments of mysteries, she finally truly embodies Singleton without overdoing it herself or being forced to overdo it by the movie. She finds dignity and quiet peace in her role when she expresses Singleton’s thoughts about the future, about what may have been and her love for Alan. But sadly, these moments sometimes contrast with her work whenever she is not given any of those tasks – it may seem a strange aspect to criticize about an actor’s work, but Jennifer Jones always feels so completely lost and helpless whenever she has to do something truly ordinary. Putting tea in a cup, ironing a shirt or even just turning around and looking for Alan often feels so strange when she does it and it shows that she is an actress who truly knows how to act with her face but often lacks the talent to act with her whole body. That’s why her long monologue in the court room is such an engaging scene in Love Letters – it allows Jennifer Jones to use all her strengths, her voice and her face, without any compromise. It’s mostly those moments, in which Singleton wonders about her past, eager to know what has happened, why she suddenly remembers a certain name or a certain deed and what it means in the larger context of her own life in which Jennifer Jones is in perfect control of her own voice, filling it with the right amount of secret, adding an emotional level to her wondering about her lost memory. Sometimes, Jennifer Jones has to cover up the emptiness of her role by using this mysteriousness even in moments in which it was not needed and then, like in her first scene, creates the opposite effect of what was intended. But as the story progresses and the mystery gets closer to its solution, Jennifer Jones finally finds the right balance in her work and is also able to maintain it. Her shy nervousness when she addresses her postman, telling him that she is not scared, or her sudden breakdown in the garden, are moments that add to the tension of the story but also make her character much more accessible and real, suddenly reminding the audience that, after all, Singleton is not only a mystery but also a human being. But between all this, Jennifer Jones also finds beautifully calm moments, especially when she lets Singleton reflect about herself, commenting on her own constant worries and speculations with an almost amused 'Me again'. And the final scenes in which Singleton remembers the truth are also done with a welcome quietness, especially considering all the overacting that would have been possible. Sure, Jennifer Jones’s tears and awkward body positions sometimes distract from the plot but overall, she finds the right tone and style for the scene, turning it into the payoff the audience has been waiting for. Unfortunately, the last moment of Love Letters is much less satisfying. Maybe the script is mostly to blame for this scene which has Singleton, after having discovered her terrible secret, running into the arms of Alan again, forgetting everything that just happened, but Jennifer Jones’s exaggerated smile and wide-eyed happiness surely add to the failure of this last moment.
Playing a victim of amnesia is certainly not an easy task for an actor because there is so much that the audience expects but also so much that needs to be considered for the sake of plausibility. Many different interpretations seem possible and Jennifer Jones’s approach, her light awareness of her own condition, the quietly increasing fear of her own past and her slow route to the truth, always in the context of the love story between Singleton and Alan, is maybe sometimes disappointing but often equally satisfying. Sometimes, the obviousness of the situation defeats her – her delivery of the line ‘Who are you?’, put into the movie to make even the last audience member understand that the murder of her husband made her lose her memory, is too plain and too blatant to really work. So, Jennifer Jones is mostly hold back by the script but her shortcomings as an actress, that can be very obvious whenever a role is not truly in her comfort zone, are often visible, too. Still, whenever she is allowed to shine and a scene allows her to display her own mysteriousness with the needed subtlety, Jennifer Jones truly creates some unforgettable and beautiful moments. This performance is certainly an up and down but even with all its flaws, Jennifer Jones makes her character strangely fascinating and she is the shining light of an otherwise disappointing movie. The part could have fitted her like a glove if it had allowed her to use her own strengths more often and had not forced her to state the obvious so many times but when all is said and done, Jennifer Jones still gives a captivating, sometimes haunting and charming performance that receives
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Title: Best Actress 1945: Jennifer Jones in "Love Letters"
Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
1:50 PM
Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
1:50 PM
