Nick Delasbour
This is a classic case of allowing society and traditionalism hold you back from what you really desire. There was once a time in society where the belief was that things had to be done strictly by the book and if you did them any other way then you were wrong. This belief system was not only for one part of life, but for all. There was a strict way for church's to operate, people to dress, families to conduct business, and also for people to interact with each other and if you did any of these differently than the norm then you were out of order. This was not the time to be different in society; it was a time to conform to traditionalism. Susie was as true to the traditional ways as "the needle to the pole." Susie allows her traditional ways to keep her from getting the man that she longed for from childhood. She was never willing to tell him what she truly wanted to neither through actions nor words while other girls did. Susie sat on the sideline and watched as other women robbed her of the stock she had invested so much in. Susie was so caught in tradition and being nice that it was too a fault. In the end it hurt her more than it helped. One thing I noticed was that Susie was more loyal to her mother than she was to her own desires and that loyalty cost her many years of happiness. Susie eventually married the man of her dreams, but it was well into her later years of life and she could never be as happy as she could have been had she gone with her gut feeling and told the young man how she felt. Susie surely had a true heart.
cocomariev
"True Heart Susie" was one of my favorite silent films that I watched during my class. This cute love story follows the lives of William and Susie. By the end of the film I found myself loving Lillian Gish's character (Susie). She sacrifices a lot in order to win William's heart over. I thought that Lillian Gish did a fabulous job throughout the entire movie. In the beginning of the film, Susie (Lillian Gish) tried to kiss William (Robert Harron) in a number of scenes and both characters did a wonderful job at creating awkward moments. I thought they did a fabulous job at making the audience feel uncomfortable as we watched Susie repeatedly getting denied by William. Griffith did a wonderful job at capturing Susie's emotion throughout the movie. The close up shots that were taken really enhanced emotion throughout the film and I found myself feeling genuinely sorry for her. During the movie, we hope and expect that Susie and William end up together, but when William meets Betty our prediction of the movie changes. The movie ends rather dramatically and unexpectedly which I favored because we always assume that endings are happy. This was the only silent film that I have watched where I felt connected to one of the characters. Lillian Gish did such a good job at grabbing the audiences attention through her facial expressions that I found myself hating Betty and feeling extremely sad when her and William got married. I don't think Griffith could have chosen a better actress to play Susie. I would definitely recommend watching this movie just to see Gish's performance. Griffith did a fabulous job at making this a sweet yet unexpected love story that captured my attention fabulously. If you're going to watch a silent film, I would definitely say that this is the one to watch!
marys-684-634226
True Heart Susie is the best silent film I have ever seen. The story was a little far-fetched, but it was a cute romantic drama. The almost kissing scenes in the beginning of the film had everyone at the edge on had all the students on the edge of their seats. People shouted out "kiss her already." The awkwardness of the main characters was portrayed perfectly throughout the movie. The kissing scenes by the fence as he is about to leave for college and the scene by the tree at the beginning of the film are as awkward as the scene at the end when they finally kiss. The awkward kiss is a reference to their innocence and childhood crush on one another.The whole movie was an absolute master piece. The innocence portrayed by Lillian Gish was extraordinary. The close ups were amazing. Although it was a silent film, I could feel every emotion she felt by the small gestures in her face. I wanted cry when William proposed to Betty and punch her she was in Susie's house after the rain storm. The emotions were more believable than the plot itself due to the amazing acting. The few colors of the film added to the emotions of Susie. The yellow showed her jealousy of Betty. The blue during the rain storm represented her longing for William and the betrayal of the partying Betty.The plot of the film was adorable from beginning to end. I truly believe that both of the main actors were from the country. The values in the film were portrayed as old fashioned values. William went to college and studied religion and became the preacher of his home town. The women stayed at home and kept care of the house. Susie's best friend was a cow. The entire town was so quaint and added to the aesthetics of the film.
MartinHafer
It's rare that the ending of a film can undo so much of the rest of the movie, but "True Heart Susie" by D.W. Griffith is one of those films. It's really a shame, as the movie had been quite good up until that point and had a lot to recommend it.The film begins with Lillian Gish wanting to help her sweetheart (Robert Harron) get the money for college. When a rich guy meets Harron and promises to one day help him (but doesn't), Gish decides she'll be his benefactor--secretly giving him money he assumes is from this rich man. Using the money Gish obtained by selling her farm animals, Harron is able to work on campus and earn enough to get his education. When he returns, he's now an ordained minister and appears ready to settle down in his home town. However, he still doesn't know that Gish helped him. She assumes they'll one day marry, but he never has popped the question.When a flirty lady bent on marriage arrives in town, Gish's subtle and lady-like ways are no match. Even though it's obvious to the viewers that this new lady is a tramp (as you see her doing lots of evil things behind Harron's back), the guy never realizes his new girlfriend is just plain bad. Now you'd think that Gish would lay it on the line and just tell him that she paid for his education as well as her love for him, but she doesn't. Perhaps she only wants him if he wants her--perhaps this is just a plot device! Either way, Gish is simply beautiful and sweet in the film and it's hard to imagine Harron marrying the tramp...but he does.The marriage soon turns out to be a huge mistake, as the new wife really could care less about being married or any aspect of domesticity. Harron, though, is easily manipulated and time after time, his cheating, no-good, scumtastic wife breaks her marriage vows--partying with old friends, kissing other men and just being a skank.Now up until this part, I'd liked the film. It had nice production values and very nice acting. I thought Griffith had done himself proud. Then, however, bad writing really sunk the film. First, when Gish sees that the new wife is a cheat, she does NOT tell Harron. This is odd, but perhaps understandable. However, when the cheating wife is caught out in the rain (as she'd sneaked out to go partying), Gish actually agrees to help the wife hide her actions. Why?! This made no sense. Second, and this was dumb, Gish didn't tell Harron a thing. Third, and this was just awful, the cheating wife gets sick and dies as a result of her being out in the rain!! This is the sort of death that can only happen in movies and just seemed to come from no where. Fourth, after the awful wife dies, Gish STILL doesn't say anything to Harron!!! However, you know that somehow it will all work out--and the entire last 10 minutes of the film is a mess--and it's a shame, as the rest of it was lovely.
