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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of Marilyn's most powerful dramatic performances, 26 Jul 2003
1953 was basically the Year of Marilyn, and Niagara is one of the films that transformed her from a much-talked-about newcomer into a living legend. The popular conception of Marilyn as a stereotypical blonde does her a disservice, as she proved in early films such as this that she had real talent as a dramatic actress. Here, she plays a cold, calculating woman planning the murder of her own husband – not your typical Marilyn role. For my money, she is amazing. There are scenes in which she communicates only through facial expressions, and she handles this so naturally that I could swear she wasn't even acting. I should also say that Marilyn is simply stunning in this movie, especially in that red dress which draws so much attention. The Niagara Falls setting, as beautiful and sweeping as it is, pales in comparison to Marilyn's beauty. She is the epitome of sultriness; she is so hot and steamy in this role that I'm surprised several movie theatre screens didn't spontaneously combust as the movie was shown. She is of course gorgeous in all of her movies, but the villainy of her character in Niagara adds an exotic flavor to her forceful presence that leaves me feeling wilted and weak in the knees. Rose Loomis (Marilyn Monroe) wants to ditch her husband and run off with her lover. Rather than merely leave her husband George (Joseph Cotton), she wants to eliminate him altogether. George is somewhat disturbed as a result of his tour of duty in Korea, and Rose uses this to her advantage by taunting and teasing him into making public spectacles of himself in front of plenty of potential witnesses. Ray and Polly Cutler (the ubiquitous Max Showalter and Jean Peters) are in Niagara Falls on a long-delayed honeymoon, and they find themselves a growing part of whatever craziness is going on between George and Rose. Rose plays her role of the loving, worried wife quite well, intentionally driving her husband into fits; the sound of her favorite song, Kiss, never fails to send him into uncontrolled outbursts. Finally, the time is right, and the lover is sent on his way to murder Rose's husband, but of course these types of things are never as simple as they should be. Rose' s portrayal of the frantic, worried wife might have worked if everything had gone according to plan, but a number of twists turns the tables right on top of her, and the whirlpool of self-destruction eventually threatens to pull the Cutlers down with it. This is Marilyn as you may never have seen her before. There is no comedy, no dumb blonde characterization to be found here, just an amazingly powerful dramatic performance. Joseph Cotton's talent contributes mightily to the film's success, and Max Showalter and Jean Peters lend a needed air of believability and realism to this beautiful thriller. There is one rather infuriating scene, however, where Ray completely dismisses his wife's account of what she has just witnessed; such an old-fashioned treatment of the real heroine of the movie is one thing that does not transplant well from the 1950s to the twenty-first century. By and large, though, this movie has not lost any of its punch over the years. To say that this movie possesses a driving force rivaling the power of Niagara Falls itself would be both cliché and inaccurate, yet Marilyn's indomitable presence combined with the setting's natural beauty makes Niagara an unforgettable movie experience.
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