A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE

Ok, so I remember telling you about my distinct lack of “regular” film education and the holes into which many of the greats have fallen. But I am desperately trying to plug those holes and I will be keeping you informed of the more successful of my endeavors. Well, I hit a real gem with this one. I mean where do you start for God’s sake?... The screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Tennessee Williams is directed by Elia Kazan. The leading roles of Blanche and Stanley are played respectively by Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando. A movie does NOT get more star-spangled than this one…

Well, you probably know the story but I will run over it for you, just quickly. Stanley (Marlon Brando) and Stella Kowalski (Kim Hunter who actually won an Oscar ® with this performance) are a low-income couple living in the slums of New Orleans. Stella is pregnant with their first child, money is tight but they get by and they are happy enough. Stella, comes from a much grander family – and the couple is brutally reminded of this when Stella’s sister Blanche arrives for a visit, completely unannounced. Blanche, is decidedly not well. She was never “well” as such, but she appears worse now. The family’s property is all “gone”, Stella is all she has left in the world and she is desperate for a place to call her own. Stanley resents her sudden arrival with “airs and graces” and resents the fact that she has all the attention. He makes no secret of this fact either. But Blanche, is farther from “well” than she has ever been in her life. The collision of these two massive yet completely opposite personalities will start a chain of events that will take the family farther than they could possibly imagine…

Now, before you even start watching this film please be warned, this is a film from a COMPLETELY different era. Filmed in 1951, in black and white, the film is technically speaking DEFINITELY no Avatar… In short, this is no “time waster” - it is based on acting alone. And, of course you will have to remember that this is an adaptation of a play, thus most of the events take place in Stella and Stanley’s cramped New Orleans home – so if you’re not used to the theatre or this kind of film, you may actually find it slightly claustrophobic. Add to that the superb performance of Marlon Brando (I did NOT know he was so good looking in his youth!! I remember him as the Godfather for Christ’s sake!) as Blanche’s horrible brother in law Stanley. The result makes you feel as if you’re being choked – and this is a good thing. It helps one sympathize with poor Blanche. Now Vivien Leigh is, as you know, (and if you don’t you damn well should!) a true-blue movie legend. She won the Oscar® for Best Actress in a Leading Role with this performance. Her acting, however, may seem a little out of the ordinary to you but in truth it’s because she is from a completely different school of acting that still carried the remnants of the silent era. Thus gestures and facial expressions take on a whole new importance and this may well jarr with some of you – especially those from the younger generation. In fact though, the style is pretty much ideal for histrionic Blanche and although she may get on your nerves at first, I defy you to watch it until the end and not feel sorry for her. Personally, she was very similar to the Blanche I had imagined when I first read the play.

Then again, some things have to be experienced to be understood. Just buy the damn thing; you will see what I mean…