The first thing that is needed to be said about
On Golden Pond is that it's quality depends on the two leading
performances. The filmmakers should have this issue worked out,
because they had cast Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda, living legends of their times. Luckily, both of them could handle roles that required
their wonderful performances.
Between Fonda and Hepburn there is
an excellent screen chemistry. Sometimes they're better than an
actual couple would have been. They act so well together, I have
never had a problem believing that they had spent their lives together.
Hepburn, as well as Honda are both able to be very funny and
charming in the first half an hour of the film, without making their
roles a caricature. They create real human characters, whose life
isn't easy at its edge, yet they use humour to handle all of their
troubles.
There could have be a bit problem for an actress
playing this part to be overshadowed by the Fondas and their real
relationship that got so mirrored into this film. But Hepburn never
allows that to happen. She fits Fondas very well and it seems as if
they had lived together for a long time. I even didn't have problem
believing that Hepburn had raised Chelsea (Jane Fonda).
Though her
performance sometimes is just reactionary, Hepburn never failed to
create a real human character out of it. And even though there are
moments (especially at the end of the film) that she overplays a bit,
it's always in favor of the character. What she was able to achieve,
along with Henry Fonda is that we really like her character Ethel and even
create a relationship with her. Somehow we will miss her after the
film ends and that's a proof of her wonderful performance.
All
right, it might not be the showiest part for an actress to play and
it's not even Hepburn's juiciest role. But it's so adorable and
simply irresistable that you absolutely understand, why she won her
fourth Oscar for it.
