Film history teaches us that before 1967 movies were tame and censored and then all hell broke loose post-censors. It also teaches us that Sidney Poitier movies were buttoned up affairs because he was standing up against so much intolerance it had to come incrementally. These were the two notions I carried into tonight's screening.
This movie blows the lid off both of those expectations. It's a sentimental film yes, but it pulls real punches. The depiction of abuse of the disabled is as intense as anything I've seen regardless of its age, probably more so because of it. It's painful and raw; I was so tense throughout it. It makes the happy moments feeling so much more earned because of how cruel what we've seen before it is. And in many other places, the film goes into brave places surrounding unexpectedly mature topics.
I was expecting something a little milquetoast but went because I wanted to see a Sidney performance. In the first few minutes I was actively hating it, only then to realize that discomfort was deliberate and deftly done. By the end I was engrossed and moved, quite a turn from the beginning.
Certainly, elements are dated. But the raw emotion is as fresh as ever. Consider. My history expectations subverted and my heart full.
This movie blows the lid off both of those expectations. It's a sentimental film yes, but it pulls real punches. The depiction of abuse of the disabled is as intense as anything I've seen regardless of its age, probably more so because of it. It's painful and raw; I was so tense throughout it. It makes the happy moments feeling so much more earned because of how cruel what we've seen before it is. And in many other places, the film goes into brave places surrounding unexpectedly mature topics.
I was expecting something a little milquetoast but went because I wanted to see a Sidney performance. In the first few minutes I was actively hating it, only then to realize that discomfort was deliberate and deftly done. By the end I was engrossed and moved, quite a turn from the beginning.
Certainly, elements are dated. But the raw emotion is as fresh as ever. Consider. My history expectations subverted and my heart full.
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