All That Heaven Allows

All That Heaven Allows was not a movie I ever expected myself to watch. I’m not a person who’s very big on watching old time movies, specifically not melodramas, however I enjoyed this one. Melodramas are meant to emphasize the feelings of the audience and this film sure proceeded to emphasize mine. Cary Scott was a wealthy widow with 2 children and lived her life happily. When she develops a friendship with Ron Kirby, her nurseryman, she develops more than a friendship and later obtains feelings of affection. It was at first surprising for me to watch her fall for a man so much younger than her who was also part of a lower class. It caught my interest to see that she still gained feelings for him when realizing this and noticing their differences such as his small, countryside house or cabin compared to her small city mansion. As the movie went on to show that her children did not approve due to the age difference, it was slightly disappointing because she would sacrifice anything for her kids including Ron. Once her children grew older and she had more space to herself, and decided to allow Ron back in her life, the story goes on pulling my emotions up and down a roller coaster as the two go through unexplainable events. Disappointment, happiness, sadness, excitement and many more emotion arose for me during events such as Cary’s visits to Ron’s mill, the two deciding to be together and not be together, and seeing Cary’s hope rise and fall especially in the end when she sees Ron and cares for him after his concussion. Over all this film was a great example of a melodrama and helped me to learn more about what melodramas are and consist of.