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What exactly is Inside Daisy Clover trying to be? Semi-pornographic name aside, at any given moment, it operates as two or three different movies each trying, and failing, to achieve maximum attention. There’s a serious drama about a ragamuffin street urchin, a biting satire about the Hollywood star machine, and a lackadaisical musical. In fits it’s interesting as a well-made movie, but it in general waffles between camp entertainment and a slog to get through.
Once more Natalie Wood is hired to play a character far younger than her actual age, and by this point her child-like innocence and beauty had morphed into a mature, ethereal beauty. In her best performances, think of Rebel Without a Cause or Splendor in the Grass, her doe-eyed innocence masked a fractured emotional core or a flinty survivalist. Inside Daisy Clover gives her another chance to give this character a spin, but Wood is clearly a decade too old for the role, and she overplays the tomboy nature and aggression.
Despite solid appearances in West Side Story and Gypsy, Wood was also not much of an authentic musical performer. Her actual vocals in one scene leave much to be desired, but at least her dubbed vocals here actually work with her speaking voice. Her lack of ease as a musical performer was put to effective use in Gypsy, as Gypsy Rose was supposed to be awkward and unsure as a performer until finding her footing in the final stretch as a burlesque stripper. The lone musical number that sticks in the mind for all of the right reasons is that breakdown she has while doing vocal dubbing in a recording booth. Wood’s naturally expressive eyes swirl with a flood of contradictory emotions, and she quakes with alternating vulnerability and rage.
While Wood seems adrift in the role, she’s surrounded by a series of supporting actors who make the most of their limited screen time. Christopher Plummer does another run through of his very oily early screen persona, practically dripping with menace and twirling an imaginary moustache while doing it. Ruth Gordon plays Wood’s mother, suffering from dementia, and praise be to Gordon for her low-key scenery chewing. Gordon was one of the cinema’s great eccentrics, look no further than her Oscar winning role in Rosemary’s Baby and Harold and Maude for more proof. Roddy McDowell doesn’t have much to do, but his presence lends a certain melancholy air to his few scenes, as they are loaded with the knowledge and baggage of his time as a child actor show pony.
It’s as disjointed as looking into a series of funhouse mirrors, but there’s still a few scenes, performances, and moments of dark satire to recommend a cursory viewing of Inside Daisy Clover. I can see a cult for this film’s strange mixture of camp-horror, satire, and lugubrious drama, but count me out of it. I’m a fan of Natalie Wood, but this is bottom shelf material, for sure.
