On Golden Pond (1981)

On Golden Pond, nominated for Best Picture of 1981, is a film that comes about as close to perfection as you could hope for. It has an exceptional script with great dialogue and rich characters. The cinematography is gorgeous, and the setting is well chosen. And then there's the acting. All of the major parts in this film are handled by performers at the top of their game: Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Fonda, Dabney Coleman, and Doug McKeon.

Henry Fonda plays Norman Thayer, a retired professor who has come to Golden Pond for the summer. Hepburn plays his patient wife, Ethel, who has been trying to reconcile Norman with his daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) for years. Chelsea shows up at the Thayer cabin on Norman's birthday with her fiance and his son in tow, leaving the boy to spend the summer with Norman and Ethel while she and Bill Ray (Coleman) travel in Europe. As the summer progress, Norman bonds with Billy (McKeon), taking him in as a surrogate grandson. Chelsea returns after marrying Bill and tries to become friends with Norman.

In his last feature film role, Henry Fonda is great as a man facing the prospect of his mortality. He has, apparently, long been obsessed with death, but now that he has reached an advanced age, he seems even more preoccupied with it. Hepburn is a marvel. She manages to walk a fine line between the kind of wife who always tries to put a sunny face on and one who worries about the impending loss of her husband. Her scene with Jane Fonda where she basically tells the younger woman to grow up is one of the best in the movie. Then again, she also has some of the best funny lines too, particularly those where she calls Norman an "old poop." (My family, especially my grandparents, loved that.)

It's hardly surprising that this film can also be examined as a study of the relationship between the Fondas; it was their only movie together. Jane's Chelsea struggles to live up to Norman's expectations of her, and you can just imagine Jane herself had similar difficulties living in the shadow of her famous father. The scene where she tries to talk to him after returning from Europe is heartbreaking. Jane has talked about that moment since the death of her father, saying that it was one of those times when the film and real life intersected, and you can see where even Henry is overcome by emotion and has to hide his face after she touches his arm. The reality of the sentiments there are more than about Norman and Chelsea Thayer.

I loved watching this movie again. I'd forgotten how rich this film is. It has moments of great comedy, such as when Norman and Bill Ray have the "illicit sleeping together" talk. It has moments of pure joy, such as Billy's solo ride on the boat. It's filled with moments of intense sadness, as when Ethel realizes that Norman's memory is starting to fade after he is unable to find the Old Town Road. And there are moments of great fear as well, such as when Norman thinks he may have suffered a heart attack and Ethel imagines what his funeral will be like. These are characters you begin to care about, people you even start to love.

I expect the somewhat slow pace of this film might put some people off, but this is a film about the twilight years of life. It's meant to be slow, and I think the interludes with scenes of the lake and the loons are beautiful transitional moments. Sometimes you get a chance to reconnect with a favorite film from your past, and On Golden Pond is one of those. I might not have even thought of watching it again had it not been for this project, but I'm so grateful for a chance to see all of these talented performers and this beautiful movie again.