1960 Directed by Sidney Lumet
Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.
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Wait a second, I thought only Elia Kazan had the rights to do Williams adaptations starring Marlon Brando?!
But truly, after a few mediocre melodramas, Lumet finally found a terrific story to work with. To be honest, the director follows much of Kazan's blueprint in both directing and acting, and the actors themselves behave in what seems to be a formula that everyone working on a Williams play should follow. Indeed, I got a strong sense of déjà vu on many occasions. Not that the premise or the picture is much more than a solid drama with good performances, with Brando playing a fugitive who attempts to settle in a town where…
I tried to pour oblivion out of a bottle,
but it wouldn’t come out.
This slow burn film made me feel bad, because the entire time Brando and Magnani are acting their asses off all I could think was, show us more Woodward!
She steals this movie like it’s a Rolex watch.
I’m not a reformer anymore.
I’m just a lewd vagrant.
Another Brando film, another masterclass in character acting, only this time he is upstaged by a powerhouse performance from Joanne Woodward as the young and feisty Carol: brave, loud, needy, fragile.
Going into a Brando film, it's normal to expect him to hold the audience on his every husky word and he doesn't disappoint here, but this was absolutely the Woodward show. Brilliant stuff.
Sidney Lumet's direction of this classic Tennessee Williams tale is controlled and luscious, full of joie de vivre and lighting panache to bring a warm glow to the features of the cast, especially Brando's 'Snakeskin' who seems to glisten with the moisture of a thousand watching wet lips.
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The Criterion Challenge 2022
46. Michael K. Williams’ Closet Picks
Absolutely genius retelling of Orpheus. Subtle while still being easy to detect as the film comes to its shocking conclusion. Classic Tennessee, the unrestrained drama of an ending brings an incredibly acted film together.
I noticed that Brando as Snakeskin was lit, especially in the beginning, very much like how women are usually lit on screen, especially a woman shown as a figure of desire. Obviously he doesn't get the Vaseline close up treatment, but in an early conversation with Lady (Anna Magnani), he's lit up like an angel, and she's in the darkness, baggy circles under her eyes. The film is not trying to draw attention to a perceived "ugliness" in Lady, but instead a perceived beauty in Snakeskin.…
Might be one of the most avant-garde pictures released by a Hollywood studio (it bombed): there are scarcely any commercial considerations, outside of the casting of three Oscar-winning actors in the lead; and no real urgency or driving force to the plot, just a drifter navigating the petty squabbles and longstanding feuds of a Faulkner-esque Southern town, at least until it all boils over into an American Inferno. You can bet your life David Lynch saw this at a formative age.
Sidney Lumet takes the lyrical writing of Tennessee Williams and makes it sing for the screen in noir-soaked shades of black and white.
Williams is rightfully considered one of the greatest American playwrights, but the movie adaptions of his work often highlight their melodrama and not their pathos. Lumet mostly succeeds in correcting this, helped by a masterful Marlon Brando performance.
Brando tapers down the raw emotion of Stanley Kowalski in ‘Streetcar Named Desire,’ and gives a more restrained (and far more interesting) portrayal of a drifter only barely managing to keep a hold on the emotions crawling beneath his own skin. The way the streaks of stark white light hit his eyes as he looks at Lady are more then enough to rocket “Fugitive Kind” to classic territory.
some things are simply too good for this world and joanne woodward is one of them. coincidently, she is also too good for almost every movie she is in.
also I know this is going to be an extremely sour take, but I have yet to watch a marlon brando movie that has not bored me to tears. please give me some recs for brando movies that are not boring so I can set my taste compass to true north.
It isn't often I have seen Lumet venture out of NYC as settings for his films but this team up with Tennesse Williams takes them south for a small town tale, no less seedy, that explores themes such as loneliness, lust, and jealousy, among others.
The plot moved at a satisfactory pace and I appreciate this more reserved style of storytelling, where motivations and past actions are gently alluded to and not beat over the audience's heads as a method of forced exposition.
The acting is what stood out however and made this film most interesting. Brando, Anna Magnani, and Joanne Woodward each deliver a well crafted performance, adding a sustained amount of depth to their character as the film progressed, making it easy to feel some stake in their futures. 6.5/10
Sidney Lumet Ranked boxd.it/gpC38
Whatta picture. The lighting really stands out as something that makes it unique. The scenes are darker, and light filters through momentarily with importance. It’s been mentioned before, but Brando’s face is lit in a generous and feminine way. I love the focus on male beauty. It’s something that always seems very thoughtful to me when explored on film.
Speaking of Brando, his ménage à trois with Magnani and Woodward is something to behold. Most reviews praise their performances and that is completely justified. They move the Tennessee Williams dialogue along at the perfect pace. It requires some patience in the middle, but absolutely pays off.
Lumet has some lovely shots, but I wouldn’t call him the centrepiece of the…
never in my LIFE have i been attracted to marlon brando (okay maybe just a little bit) but this has definitely awakened something in me oh my god i'm so SAD
