Written on the Wind

Throughout Written on the Wind, the character of Marylee undergoes so many changes that the first impression we get of her is nearly the complete opposite of her final persona. She is introduced as promiscuous and rambunctious, and as the film progresses she is overcome with jealousy due to her love for Mitch. But in a dramatic moment during the trial, she decides to have mercy on Mitch and tells the truth about her brother's death. We are shown that after all of her scheming, she really is a human and she truly cares for Mitch.
Do these changes make her more or less relatable and appealing to the audience or does it make her character just seem less authentic?

In the Schatz reading, Written on the Wind is mentioned as one of the more unconventional films of the 1950's for stepping outside of the typical romantic narratives that came before it:

Because of a variety of industry-based factors, as well as external cultural phenomena,
the melodrama reached its equilibrium at the same time that certain filmmakers
were heginning to subvert and counter the superficial prosocial thematics and
cliched romantic narratives that had previously identified the genre. No other genre
films, not even the "anti-Westerns" of the same period, projected so complex and
paradoxical a view of America, at once celebrating and severely questioning the basic
values and attitudes of the mass audience.

The mitial success of romantic tearjerkers reflected the collective capacity to stroke the
emotional sensibilities of suburban housewives, but recent analysts suggest that the
'50s melodramas are actually among the most socially self-conscious and covertly
"anti-American" films ever produced by the Hollywood studios