The Song of the Lark

The Song of the Lark is both in the spirit and sense that Willa Cather had for all her major characters, particularly those who didn't fit into any generally recognisable mold. What Cather is indicating is that artists are most often misunderstood and if they are women, even more so. Perhaps this is not news to some, but it seems that it must be repeated to eventually be understood. This is hardly an unfocused work. It carries Thea Kronborg through her formative years, not her eventual success as a singer. But the film's success owes much to the presence of Alison Elliott whose gravity and sensitive performance anchors the production. For those who find Elliott a skilful actress may I suggest they rent The Wings of the Dove (1997)? Her work as the doomed Millie Theale goes way beyond the ordinary. And, if the story of yet another woman who wants to succeed as an artist, one could do no better than locating Gillian Armstrong's 1979 My Brilliant Career, which put Judy Davis on the map. (It was available at one time.) It is unlikely that Cather or Miles Franklin, the Australian author (actually a pseudonym) knew each other's work, but surely they would have appreciated that they were treating the same material with regard rather than scorn.