Patty Duke (who, sadly, passed away a few days ago) won the Oscar for her performance as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker.
The Miracle Worker is a terrific movie about Helen Keller, a young deafblind girl, and Anne Sullivan, the woman who taught her how to communicate. It's truly a pity that Arthur Penn was against David Lean and Robert Mulligan at the Oscars because his direction never feels stagey and is, quite simply, masterful. Among the supporting players, Inga Swenson and Victor Jory stand out with their deeply felt performances as Helen's parents.
Many people think of Patty Duke's nomination (and eventual win) as a case of category fraud but I'm actually not quite sure about that. On one hand, her character is always seen through Anne's perspective but on the other hand she is clearly the central character of the movie. I don't know whether I would put her in the leading or supporting category, but I have no doubt about the quality of the performance which is, quite simply, a masterclass in acting. On a physical point of view, Patty Duke's performance is simply flawless. Every movement, every gesture could have gone awfully wrong as Helen Keller is a role that allows for the worst type of overacting - but Duke (who previously created the role on stage) gives an incredibly vivid and believable performance in which every single moment rings true and seems utterly convincing. Duke properly creates a sort of distance between her and the other cast members and perfectly establishes Keller as a character who seems to live in her own world - she isn't able to connect with other people and she mostly doesn't know what is around her. Duke manages to create a sort of impenetrable and invisible wall around Helen and, as throughout the movie Anne manages to find a connection between her and Helen, Duke is equally amazing in showing to the audience how the wall has been slowly penetrated. The scenes in which Helen starts to discover the world around her and to learn how to recognize things are wonderfully portrayed by Duke who makes those moments properly powerful and moving and she shows beautifully the joy and the excitement in the character. And of course the dining room battle is one of the most amazingly acted scenes ever and both actresses are simply fantastic in it: I couldn't help but sit in awe watching how well Duke manages to be so incredibly real in a role that screams for theatrics and mannerisms, and the way she works so perfectly with Anne Bancroft and the way they match each other's performances is just stunning.
The role of Helen Keller is not only an extremely difficult one technically, but it's also a role that risks to appear one-note and shallow: Duke completely avoids that by showing that inside Keller there is a clever mind and a strong personality that she doesn't quite know how to express but that are definitely there. Duke also is very admirable for not relying at all on the audience's sympathy: she refuses to play Keller as a victim and she actually shows very well Helen's more negative, even manipulative sides - she shows how Helen understands that her parents feel sorry for her and don't dare to punish her for her rude behavior and therefore acts as she wants. And, of course, she shares an amazing chemistry with Anne Bancroft and their growing friendship is not only portrayed believably but also very poignantly. As the movie progresses, Duke is great in slowly adding a great deal of warmth to her performance as she grows closer to Anne and together they share some truly sweet, powerful moments. And she does a phenomenal job in showing through her body movements and facial expressions how Helen slowly becomes more mature and aware of the world and life itself and her portrayal of discovery is just beautiful and heartwarming to witness. And of course there is the scene towards the end in which Helen finally manages to utter the word "water": Duke's line-delivery, again, could have done so wrong yet it's just perfect and completely believable.
Patty Duke takes a role that could have been a mannered mess or a one-note portrayal and delivers an amazing masterclass in acting. Whether she's leading or supporting, you can't deny how deserved her Oscar win is. It's just a stunning performance that you can't help but deeply respect and admire because what Duke achieves with this work is something truly incredible. A very worthy win and a powerful, unforgettable performance.
5/5
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