The Fugitive Kind - 5/10 (I gave it a 5 because of a few nice lines)
I heard Robert Altman say something like how he believes each person watches the same movie differently, and I agree. This is just my take.
I couldn't believe I hadn't seen this film yet. I heard about it, like thousands of other movies, which is probably why it flew under my radar. Brando is my favorite actor, I've always liked T. Williams' writing, and Lumet's direction.
The opening scene was so great, it didn't seem like Brando was acting. Then the next woman we see is M. Stapleton, a great actress. Loved her in Reds, Interiors, but unfortunately, her role was reduced even though she had second billing.
This film seemed to take some inspiration from the bible (snakeskin, sin, fruit, sin, etc), maybe some Shakespeare (of course Jabe had to be impotent), Freud, but much seems to be from Tennessee Williams' repressive and even sadistic homosexuality. In every film of his, there has to be homosexual innuendo, starting with "Streetcar" and on (there's even the same carnival music during the revelation). Any heterosexual relationship has to be devious.
Like Baby Doll, the daughter is "sold" by her father to a sadistic and impotent man (Malden previously). The fathers are always dead, and replaced by the husband, which is never founded on love, but rather commerce. I guess Williams' has to have his neuroses fed somehow.
Joanne Woodward is more of a pawn in the film, her acting is lousy, but she's Newman's wife and she's "attractive" in the eyes of Hollywood.
Xavier (Brando) is trying to avoid trouble, but only finds more of it thanks to a necessity (shelter, income) which evolves into temptation. Of course Brando and Lady had to have a devious relationship, it can't ever just be love. That would too great of innovation for sex.
Lady is miserable until of course the seed of hope is planted inside of her. It's the first time we see her smile. Even the sadistic, asexual spy (nurse) takes notice of the entire situation. Once Jabe gets on his feet, his anger towards the new boy (who is constantly referred as pretty, good-looking) is so strong he reveals that is was he who burnt her father's place, while he was burnt alive because he sold alcohol to black people. Brando now becomes "black" in his eyes, and the sheriff, who threatens him with physical violence, and more sexual innuendo, even telling him a story of a sign that warns blacks not to let the sun shine down on them.
Lady wants revenge, and plans to stick around for the inheritance, while Xavier is wanting to leave. The pawn (Woodward) is there as more temptation, and a symbol for Lady's jealousy; she's old, childless, while Woodward is young and vital, and hysterical. That's not Brando's intentions, but when he finds out Lady is pregnant, he's stuck.
While Jabe knows he's dying, he wants the entire ship to go down with him. First he burns down her father's place, now Lady's place. We smell corruption when his friend, the sheriff, is there to hose Xavier down like other black people in the early 60's. Lady is shot by Jabe's last burst of verility, killing the baby I assume, and all that's left of Xavier is the snakeskin (Adam and Eve), which is also sold for a golden ring to what seems like a voodoo witchdoctor we see earlier; the condemned (the alcoholic nymphomaniac and the black "uncle"), while Stapleton's character is kinda lost unfortunately.
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did you know about the plot beforehand?