Gone with the Winds (1939)

         Gone with the Wind clearly deserves to hold its place near the top of the American Film Institute’s top 100 list. Not only is the plot line riveting, but the characters are engaging and the film itself beautifully rendered. Directed by Victor Fleming in 1939, Gone with the Wind was one of the earliest movies in color. Scenes such as burning Atlanta during Scarlett and Rhett’s escape fill the screen with color and breathtaking cinematic beauty. Although it is a very long movie, it in no way drags. Each character has something to bring to the table, something worth watching and also very human that makes the drama feel more real.

         The character of Scarlett O’Hara is a powerful force stronger than the wind within the movie and the world at large. She is a strong willed woman prepared to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She is tough and vivacious and hopelessly in love with a man who will never love her back, and that frankly is her only fault. A woman so strong and independent shouldn’t pine after unrequited love, but this one fault makes her character human and relatable while adding dynamic complexity to the movie’s plot.

         Melanie Hamilton is incredibly kind and forgiving, almost to a fault. She forgives Scarlett after hearing rumors of Scarlett and Ashley’s embrace at the mill, as Rhett Bulter puts it, she’s either incredibly kind or incredibly stupid for trusting so much. Her character stands in the way of Scarlett’s love, however she is so sweet and well intentioned that even Scarlett can’t hate her. This dynamic also leaves the audience torn.

         Ashley Wilkes sits at the core of the movie: he is Scarlett’s love and incessant addiction, yet he will not marry her. He also will not admit he loves his wife more than he loves Scarlett, therefore leading her on until the moment his wife dies, when he admits he still doesn’t love Scarlett. His character is the device that keeps spurring up drama in Scarlett’s life, all because he admitted he loves her but will do nothing about it. Without him, the movie would have been a lot more boring, but Scarlett’s life would have been simpler.

         Rhett Butler might be the most interesting character of all, after Scarlett perhaps. He is originally depicted as a womanizing lone ranger, until he professes his love to Scarlett, although he tells her he is not the marrying type. Eventually however, he decides he will marry Scarlett, although she refuses several times, he reluctantly persuades her. After all her initial resistance, and his clear knowledge that Scarlett is in love with Ashley, he still expects her to fall for him. He does everything he can to make her love him, although neither seem to want to admit it might actually be true. Finally, in the last scene of the movie, Scarlett realizes Ashley will never love her, and she does love Rhett, and wants a life with him despite the recent death of their daughter Bonnie. Then and only then does Rhett give up on her. He finally decides there is no hope and he doesn’t want her, although she is begging him to stay. His famous last line, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,” resonates strongly with what audiences wish he would have said earlier, but in this moment wish he would stay. Rhett’s character is intriguing because of this transition between refusing to marry, and trying to get his new wife to show him love and affection. He is also a doting and loving father, another layer of complexity within his character.

         Gone with the Wind is a remarkable classic by any standard, but the complexity and realness within each character draws the audience in and keeps them captivated until the Exit Music sounds.

By Tapley