Monday, May 10, 2021

Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)

IMDb plot summary: At the end of a long and hot summer day, members of one family gather in a large house. Everyone has something painful and offensive to say, and their silence is even worse.
Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards, and Dean Stockwell.

This is often considered one of the greatest American plays out there, and there's certainly a lot to be gleaned from it, especially for any actors taking it on. You have to be prepared to lean back into this style, though. It's very reminiscent of the classical plays -- Greek tragedies come to mind most strongly -- with long poetic monologues taking the place of any semblance of realistic speech. Characters don't seem to be interacting with each other so much as existing out loud near each other, which definitely brings out the sense of isolation and "every man for himself" within this family. Lumet keeps the theatrical staging in translating it to film but makes incredible use of lighting to narrow in on these characters as they feel more and more trapped in the life they have. This film won't resonate with everyone but it definitely grew on me as I watched.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Long Day's Journey Into Night > Le Week-End
Long Day's Journey Into Night < Safe
Long Day's Journey Into Night > Event Horizon
Long Day's Journey Into Night > Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Long Day's Journey Into Night > The Shallows
Long Day's Journey Into Night > Good Morning, Vietnam
Long Day's Journey Into Night > Cries and Whispers
Long Day's Journey Into Night > Look Out, Officer!
Long Day's Journey Into Night < My Name Is Joe
Long Day's Journey Into Night < Hoop Dreams
Long Day's Journey Into Night > The Game
Long Day's Journey Into Night > The Black Cat
Final spot: #850 out of 3361, or 75%.

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