This is a
really good movie.
Montgomery Clift is the estranged nephew of the richest guy in a small
town. After a chance meeting (before the movie starts) in Chicago, the
uncle invites Clift to come see him sometime. Clift immediately sets out
to do just that and as the film opens we see Clift hitchhiking into town.
He's given a low-level job in his uncles textile mill and forgotten about.
While working on the floor, he meets homely Shelly Winters and they start a
relationship. Things would have been just fine had it remained a simple
fling, because Clift secretly has his eyes set on young socialite, Elizabeth
Taylor. He longs to be with her and to live the good life of parties,
privilege and expensive toys. Suddenly, it looks like that dream could
become a reality when he receives a promotion at work and Taylor falls for him
at a party. Then sad sack Winters reveals that she's pregnant.
There were a number of great serious dramas coming out of Hollywood after WWII
and the early 1950's. A PLACE IN THE SUN is one of my favorites.
Director George Stevens headed a U.S. Army film unit from 1943 - 1946 and
documented on film all kinds of the horrible things that men can do to each
other, including the landing on D-Day and the Hell on Earth horrors of the Nazi
concentration camps. He even helped prepare footage for use in the
Nuremberg trials. The darkness that he saw can be felt in A PLACE IN THE
SUN. Clift's inescapable doom. The unfair hopeless fate of
Winters. The destroyed innocence of Taylor. Clift's heartbroken
mother who's failed upbringing of Clift contributed to his all consuming desire
to escape the shackles of poverty. None of the main players in this
tragedy escape destruction. Depressing story, doomed characters, death,
love, heartbreak, veiled talk of abortion, fear, deep shadows...A PLACE IN THE
SUN is a haunting experience.
Another thing that impressed me was the photography. I mean, Jesus Christ,
that scene where they first kiss...holy fook!!! It's interesting that
Clift and Winters first kiss was done all in silhouette, but then when Taylor
and Clift kiss for the first time...wow! I mean, I think, I actually
stopped breathing for a few seconds. The idea to film it that way has to
be one of the greatest decisions in film history.
I could go on for hours about A PLACE IN THE SUN, but I don't like writing long
reviews or giving away too much. Instead, if you're a fan of classic
Hollywood, then just go watch it for yourself. It won 6 Oscars and it's
easy to see why. Also, I've always been a fan of Shelley Winters,
but her performance here completely blew me away.
Double feature with Woody Allen's CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS.
