100 Words #5

MARTY (1953)
It’s startling how fresh the original version of Paddy Chayefsky’s Marty feels, even if it’s been over a half-century since it aired, likely because we live in an era when Hollywood vomits a stream of by-the-numbers “romantic comedies” featuring beautiful people with beautiful people problems. Rod Steiger’s performance as the title character, a lumbering guy in his late 30s who’s tired of familial and societal pressure to get married, is restrained and heartfelt at the same time. Avoiding the clichés of romance on the screen, Chayefsky’s choice to show love in its realest, rawest form is enthralling.