Entertainment Review Of The Week: Streetcar Named Desire
Based upon the Pulitzer winning play, A Streetcar Named Desire made its debut in 1951. On April 20th, 2011, the play won my heart. And then on January 14th, 2012, the movie stole my breath, my life, and my every being of my soul. This story is more than just a story about a woman, it's thriller of the mind of a woman. The desires she longs after, the youth she once had, and the love she still clings to.
A Streetcar Named Desire begins with Blanche Dubois coming to stay with her sister, Stella, and her brother-in-law, Stanley. Blanche has suffered through a lot back at their childhood town, losing her husband and then their house. She then "resigns" from her job as an English teacher and decides to move in with her Stella and Stanley.
What she doesn't know is Stanley is a controlling animal who thrives on desire and power. Blanche's character is extremely frail and she suffers from nerves terribly. Stanley bullies her and torments her physically and psychologically as she spends her time there.
The ending result of learning of Blanche's real past and true desires and Stanley's intentions are shocking and even though I knew the story, it still surprised me.
A Streetcar Named Desire the production suffered a lot for its time, going through misery to put this film out. The play's themes were controversial, and the producers knew that the film was going to have to be watered down to comply with Hollywood Production Code during the 50's. Several scenes were cut, lines cut, ideas changed, and also scenes were shown in a symbolic shot.
Even though the film fought against censorship, it is THE PERFECT example for a true classic. The film had the best editing, best shot angles, cinematography, etc. I could just go on about this movie.
And it still shocks me that Tennessee Williams not only wrote the play, but also wrote the screenplay for the film. The play is more than just words exchanged between people, it is pure poetry. Conversational poetry.
What annoys me as well is how much Vivien Leigh gets bashed for playing Blanche. You see, the problem was that Jessica Tandy had played Blanche in the Broadway version along with the other original actors such as Marlon Brando and Kim Hunter. But, the producers knew that the film would not do well without a star. At the time, Marlon Brando was only a Broadway star, and Jessica Tandy had never been in a movie before. So, they needed a movie star. They picked Vivien Leigh because she had played Blanche in the London production. The actors didn't like her and the producers didn't like her (except Brando because he's smart and intelligent...and beautiful). Seeing Jessica Tandy in several other movies, I can see how she could have played the part very well, but Vivien Leigh IS Blanche Dubois. I can't really put any other way. Even when I was reading the play, Vivien Leigh pops in my mind. Why? BECAUSE SHE IS BLANCHE! Vivien presented Blanche the way she needed to be shown to the world: a tormented woman who can't control her desires even though she wishes to live in a world of magic and imagination. And guess what, peeps? Leigh won the Academy Award. Take that, son!
Then, of course, there's Marlon Brando. Where do I begin with that man? From every review, every actor in that film, they all say that Marlon Brando is the most phenomenal actor to ever work with. He worked as a true actor. He played around with different ideas, and he usually never did the same thing twice. The amazing thing as well is that Brando hated Stanley. Brando truly hated his character and that's why I fall in love with him even more. To know that as an actor, you hate your character, you still are going to play out it out to the fullest, and he didn't care that people would probably associate him with Stanley for the rest of his life. When you are faced with a challenge, try to fulfill and even make it better. That's exactly what Brando did. I don't care what the Academy says, he deserved that Oscar more than any of the other actors. He should have won all of the awards that night just because of that performance.
Now, Kim Hunter may have been an unheard actress, but I was ecstatic to know that she won the Best Supporting Actress. I could honestly say, as an actress, I could never play the role of Stella. Stella is a girl lost in the world of desire and lust exuded from her husband, and the way Hunter expresses the faces...girl, how ya do it?!
I'm a true believer in the fact that all three of these actors cannot be replaced by anybody to play those parts no matter what anyone says. It will always be Leigh as Blanche, Brando as Stanley, and Hunter as Stella forever in my mind.
**Five Stars**
