The Subject Was Roses (1968)

Retuning to his Bronx home after three years serving in WWII, a soldier (Martin Sheen) becomes acutely aware of the tension in the marriage of his parents (Patricia Neal, Jack Albertson). His presence eventually serves as a catalyst that brings the marital problems in the open. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Frank D. Gilroy (who adapted his play for the screen) and directed by Ulu Grosbard. Despite some attempts to open up the play to make it more cinematic, its theatrical roots are all too evident. With its focus on its three protagonists (there are two very minor characters who were not in the play) in their Bronx apartment, it feels what it is ..... a filmed play although I found it more reminiscent of those TV plays featured on shows like Studio One or Playhouse 90. Albertson (who won an Oscar for his performance) and Sheen recreate their stage roles literally, there's a theatrical intensity that doesn't seem natural on the screen, Thankfully, Patricia Neal gives a lovely nuanced performance but it exposes the theatricality of Albertson and Sheen. The film was a personal triumph for Neal. This was her first film since the massive stroke four years earlier that nearly killed her and robbed her of her memory and ability to speak. You'd never guess from her performance that anything had ever been wrong and her monologue (four pages long) on the rooftop is superb. The film makes beautiful use of the Judy Collins song, Albatross.