Oh Ashley

This week’s Short Cut is a look at not only a classic but also a truly epic film experience: 1939’s Gone With the Wind (GWTW). There has been much discussion around this film in recent years, and there is much to unpick and discuss. I myself have written an essay or two about this film and considered it as a subject for a thesis, but despite not doing that, I still love this film.

I feel a lot of the recent scrutiny has taken a step too far and misses the point of cinema, and underestimates its power. There is so much to potentially tackle: the representation of women, of race, the very scale of the film, its art design, its costume design. I was initially going to say, yes, this film is controversial but is it? Every book, every film, every painting, every work of art is a mirror to society, and we should not forget this. Rather than vilifying the filmmakers, should the film not show how far society has come as well as remind us how much further we have to go? Maybe I am coming across as tone-deaf, but I believe every piece of art is important, especially those that make us uncomfortable.

The very grandeur of GWTW in a love letter to cinema. It goes all out; in look, in plot, in running time. As someone who often gives out about the running length of films, some may be surprised to hear me marvel at GWTW’s four-hour length, but it was made when going to the cinema was an event like going to a play. There was a sense of community about this and it is also justified; the film is very much a story of two halves that takes a hold of us. We are totally involved in Scarlett’s story.

A fun fact to show just how much of an experience going to see this film was: for the premiere in Atlanta, the governor declared a state holiday and ticket prices were forty times higher than usual. How often do things like that happen now?

If you haven’t watched GWTW and don’t know the plot, I am judging you and wondering what has gone so obviously wrong in your life that you have not watched it! For you plebs who aren’t familiar with what is happening, I will be generous enough to give some background to what is probably the briefest but most iconic masterclass in subtlety, both in acting and plot.

Our protagonist Scarlett is madly in love with Ashley, but he does not accept Scarlett’s affection and marries someone else. In a very childish attempt to make him jealous, Scarlett flirts with Charles Hamilton, who in turn asks for her hand and she agrees. This scene opens the film with the not-so-happy couple being congratulated by their guests and the whole immensely brilliant moment is a mere forty seconds long.

Why am I ranting and raving about this scene? The first reason is that it is so brief yet develops the plot so much. It also adds an incredible amount of depth to our protagonists. It is one of the first moments that really causes us to be invested in the film and we get to watch a legend like Vivien Leigh show everyone how it's done.

Until this point, the character of Scarlett has been childish, defying everyone around her and acting very immature, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. After all, her juvenile behaviour has led to a wedding to a man in whom she has essentially no interest. Scarlett looks pensive, but when speaking to Melanie, Ashley’s wife, she seems relieved to hear that the wedding was beautiful. Ashley sidles up to her to congratulate her on her marriage and looks intensely at her before kissing her on the cheek. Though he has caught her off guard, she completely leans into it, closing her eyes. We can see her throat tense as her collarbones stick out. He says nothing. She merely looks at him longingly and, just like that, he walks away and the moment is over.

Vivien Leigh, in a matter of seconds, has managed to take a potentially ridiculous character and make the viewer feel for her. It has suddenly become clear that her silly behaviour is not down to some childish crush but driven by a true deep feeling that Ashley clearly reciprocates. We can’t forget that Leslie Howard, who plays Ashley also manages to demonstrate this longing, this desire for something that can never be.

I think this briefest of moments is something Jane Austen wrote about “Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement”. This whole scene is made by the powerful subtleties in the actors’ performances. What is shown here are the nuances that we all experience.