A Place in the Sun based on the masterpiece American
Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
A different
version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and
http://realini.blogspot.ro/
The film is
based on a classic – American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser.
The chef d’oeuvre
has been included on the list of best novels of the twentieth century, compiled
by The Modern Library:
Clyde
Griffiths becomes George Eastman in the film and he is played exceptionally by
Montgomery Clift.
This was
one of the best actors and we can see that in this and other films and we have
testimony from other involved in the movies.
Burt Lancaster
has said that he was afraid of Montgomery Clift, since the actor had such a
power and such magnetism.
William Goldman
writes in the fantastic Adventures in the Screen Trade that the fact that
Montgomery Clift did not take the parts in Somebody Up There Likes Me, East of
Eden and On The Waterfront lead to the stardom of:
-
Paul Newman, James Dean and Marlon
Brando respectively…
George Eastman
wants a…Place In The Sun.
Only he
comes from a very poor family, he has very little education and not much to
recommend him for a better position.
Except for his
relation to his very rich uncle.
George visits
his wealthy family and he is offered a job, although it is an entry level, that
could open the way for later opportunities.
He meets
his destiny, if we choose to see it that way or believe in fate, in the person
of a coworker named Alice Tripp.
They engage
in a relationship that becomes not just intimate, but I venture to say a
foolishly inconsiderate sexual affair.
George wants
to climb up the ladder and he may be so scared, maybe even stigmatized by his
destitution as a child.
It is wrong
to put emphasis on money, fame, status and extrinsic goals, as positive
psychology research has demonstrated.
Notwithstanding
this research, people still tend to engage on the hedonic treadmill and expect
wealth to bring happiness.
It doesn’t,
even if extreme poverty, homelessness are not exactly the happiness formula and
a comfortable financial situation is optimal.
George meets
Angela Vickers, portrayed by the gorgeous, young Elizabeth Taylor in her good
period, acting with charm and grace.
The young
man is now trapped in an impossible love triangle, even if I think that he was
only infatuated, very likely sexually attracted to Alice, and while in the case
of Angela, her charm might be well increased by her position, in the eyes of
the “hungry” George.
Things Fall
Apart- when Angela learns she is pregnant and is reluctant to take up the
solution of an abortion.
She then
starts to pressure her lover.
George is
now torn between Angela and her increasingly annoying requests and the glamorous,
sparkling medium of Angela.
The haunted
Montgomery Clift is exceptional in this situation, where the hero does not know
what to do.
Or perhaps
he does, but it is so difficult to get away from Alice and her possessiveness and
run to and with Angela.
There is
also the issue of Angela’s family, who is not thrilled at the prospect t of the
daughter making such a poor choice.
The book is
excellent, but this is an adaptation that, although it is not able to render
all that we find in the novel, it is a marvelous work of art.
The actors,
screenplay, director all contribute and their work has been recognized and awarded
six Academy Awards and other prizes
“George Eastman: I love you. I've loved you
since the first moment I saw you. I guess maybe I've even loved you before I
saw you.”
This quote
may reveal a lot about the main character and his Quest for A Place in the Sun
that did not end as he wanted.
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