Gary Cooper has a reputation for playing tough characters – the very epitome of the strong and silent type. I always assumed that meant he was rugged and manly. An alpha male. But the more I watch his films the more I find his acting has a vulnerability to it. Yes, his characters are strong, but it is an inner strength – a strength of character rather than might. He is often silent, but that silence signifies a thoughtfulness.
In Friendly Persuasion, he plays a Quaker living on the brink of the Civil War. When the war comes to him and his family he must decide whether or not to fight. How deep does his faith go?
It is actually a much sillier movie than that sounds. It makes a lot of playful fun with Quakerism and their “strange ways.” Honestly, that kind of rubbed me the wrong way. It isn’t a bad movie, as you can read in my full review, but not a great one either.
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