And the Best Picture goes to....

“Marty” is a film that actually starts out quite sad, watching as Marty Piletti (Ernest Borgnine), a kind-hearted, lonely butcher, faces unrelenting rejection, a reality that many can relate to.  However, what unfolds is a sweet and touching love story between two people who at the respective ages of 29 and 34, are considered past their sell-by dates.  But Marty and his love interest Clara connect and you can’t help but root for them.

Borgnine’s performance is both realistic and endearing, which likely contributed to him winning the Best Actor Oscar for this role. His portrayal of Marty allows viewers to look past his stocky, unattractive exterior and see the heart of a man yearning for companionship and acceptance. Betsy Blair complements this as Clara, effectively capturing the essence of a woman who is also older, insecure, and alone. It is particularly interesting to note that she was nominated for a supporting role rather than for Best Actress. Had her role been more substantial and provided more insight into her perspective, she may have received the recognition she deserved. After all, Diane Keaton won Best Actress for “Annie Hall,” a film that similarly explores themes of love and vulnerability.

The film’s family dynamics are amusingly portrayed through Marty’s mother (Esther Minciotti) and aunt (Augusta Ciolli), who provide comic relief with their humorous banter about aging. Their rivalry over aches and pains is not only entertaining but also strikingly relatable, especially considering that the aunt is only supposed to be 56 years old—a reflection of how perceptions of age have shifted over the years.

Perhaps what makes this picture work is that it’s an old-fashioned love story that tugs at your heartstrings and you want these two people to find their much-deserved happiness.  There’s someone out there for everyone, and perhaps the moral of the story is that beauty is only skin deep, and to see the real person you need to look beneath the surface to find them.