A Mulher do Próximo

I caught this movie at a film festival at UCLA this week-end. It was excellent. Great screen play and acting. I almost didn't recognize Tony Randall as his nose is suspiciously larger than it seems in later films. Unlike the reviewer who felt this was essentially a "Soap Opera" that was well acted, I think that this film had an obvious dark side. It wasn't just the telling of the business of others, it was the unveiling of the dark underbelly of suburban life. Not for the sake of entertainment, but for the sake of exposure. This movie reminded me a lot of a William Inge play. An expose more-so than a side show. I loved it much more than I expected to.

This 20th Century Fox expose of "the good life" in the suburbs wasn't seen by anybody much in 1957, and it's easy to see why: It probes convincingly deep into the less pleasant aspects of this clean, all-white subculture, and suburban moviegoers probably didn't want to see their worst aspects on screen, and urban audiences didn't care. Early Martin Ritt, and typically thorough of him, it explores prejudice, sexism, alcoholism, war veterans with what would now be diagnosed as PTSD, and capitalism's way of trapping young families in debt. The wide-screen black-and-white cinematography is clean and alluring, and all eight principals do well--Sheree North, groomed by 20th to be a threat to Monroe, proves once again that they didn't really give her enough chances to show what she could do. The shiny surfaces and flattering clothes and powerful cars all illustrate that "good life," and show what's wrong with it. And in comprehensively exploring the roots and hypocrisies and effects of racism at the time, it's a good deal braver than many contemporary films.

The script is sharp and at times, poignant, the acting is superb, and the overall impact is overwhelming. It peels the label off of the seemingly happy suburban couples and, in so doing, provides the sharpest snapshot ever put to film about a time and place that no longer exists, the one that was written about by such giants as Updike and Cheever. The only problem with this movie is that it's only shown on TV about once every ten years and it's not available on video. One last comment. After watching this movie, you'll never look at Tony Randall in the same way.

I grew up in a post ww11 housing development, and all the characters of No Down Payment were our neighbors and family. Right down to the racial discriminating, only Mexicans were the people our neighborhood discriminated against. A pity. The buying of new cars,and ex-servicemen unable to find their niche, still living their war glory days. And young women who weren't really ready for married life,like the character portrayed by Joanne Woodward. The actors playing the characters were so believable, Pat Hingle even looked the part of the put upon successful man, Tony Randle played a depressed alcoholic,Jeffrey Hunter was an excellent college educated young man. I knew all these characters while growing up in a post ww11 housing development. Now I want to buy a copy of this excellent film.

Call it a soap opera if you like, but "No Down Payment" is a riveting slice of late 1950s life from Surburbia, USA. This movie follows the intertwining lives of several suburban families in a generic U.S. city, and is fascinating to watch.

We've all seen the characters in our own lives: the bookish engineer (Hunter), the quietly desperate alcoholic car salesman (Randall), the town official with nothing but excuses (Hingle), the violent type that settles everything with his fists (Mitchell), and so on. Great acting by all concerned, along with Ritt's sure direction, make this a winner.

My only complaint is the women's roles. Joanne Woodward produces a great performance, but all the other women's roles are somewhat one-dimensional, and involve spending all day keeping house or setting the dinner table. I guess it's a reflection of the 1950s, but it's still disappointing.

Fine performances, particularly from Woodward, Hunter, and Randall, produce a grade-A effort. Watch it with the 1950s in mind.