Odeio Essa Mulher

What must have seemed like a stunning piece of "kitchen sink" realism at the time, now looks a bit too staged and artificial because the performances are keyed to the stage rather than film. Ironically, they work against the natural, low-key settings of the dingy flat that is the centerpiece of the story--at least for much of the film.

Tony Richardson has opened the stage play with the result that he's had to cut down on all the expository stage dialog to give us a direct view of the angry young man (RICHARD BURTON) in his present surroundings. Burton attacks his role with a ferocity that is reminiscent of the way Kirk Douglas attacked such a role in YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN, another angry young man American style.

The film successfully followed the pattern of other such stories that emerged during the hectic '50s, the James Dean struggles for independence as a troubled youth, only here the accent is on the slowly disintegrating marriage of Burton and MARY URE, repeating the role she played on the London stage, while he lashes out at society for condemning him to a dreary working class life he knows is below his station.

RICHARD BURTON plays the lead with theatrical flourishes and GARY RAYMOND and CLAIRE BLOOM (as "the other woman") are fine in less showy roles.

Summing up: Stripped of most of the explosive dialog that made the play such a steamy hit in London, the film manages to be little more than an atmospheric B&W look at the squalor and depression of the times among the lower classes.

The late fifties marked the beginning of the short lived new wave in British Cinema. This was largely influenced by the burgeoning of the American cinema and stage as opposed to the staid outdated state of affairs in British culture. In that brief period a number of films were made which broke new ground in an effort to portray the often harsh reality of life for millions of Britons. Tony Richardson was perhaps the most prominent exponent of the kitchen sink/angry young man genre and "Look Back in Anger" one of his finest works.

Time has not been kind to a lot of the films which at the time may have seemed important. "Look Back in Anger" is one of the few which have retained its power, due to John Osborne's writing, Richardson's direction and outstanding performances by all.

It must have been an exciting time with the emergence of some exceptional young actors, (Alan Bates, Albert Finney, Tom Courtney, Rita Tushingham, Vanessa Redgrave, to name but a few) as well as a new generation of writers and directors. But it was not long before this exciting movement petered out and British cinema would be once again dominated by largely mediocre films.

"Look Back In Anger" has an emotional rawness to it which is still extremely effective. Osborne does not shy from exposing the ruthlessness his characters are capable of. It's a ruthlessness born of frustration and pain and as such one we can comprehend if not forgive.

Richard Burton in the lead gives a virtuoso performance, but it's the kind of acting which belongs on the stage. Burton, unlike many of his theatrical peers never quite got the hang of screen acting. He's always a number of shades to big. Still, when at his best (such as in "Night of the Iguana"), it's fascinating viewing, despite the overt theatricality.

Claire Bloom who had partnered Burton often on stage, is a fine match for the fiery Burton. The lesser known Mary Ure (Osborne's wife at the time) gives a remarkably touching portrayal as the torn and suffering spouse. Gary Raymond lends much charm in the role that was created by Alan Bates on the stage. And then there's the great Edith Evans in a small role; but then you know what they say about there being no small roles, only small actors. She certainly was one of the greats.

This is classic film making and one of the high points of British cinema, which has never regained its position in the making of exciting, intelligent and important films. Sadly director Tony Richardson too, never really fulfilled the promise of his outstanding early works.

Not one to miss.

Rebellious youth has always been a good subject for movie makers and Look Back in Anger for the United Kingdom became what The Wild One and The Blackboard Jungle were on this side of the Atlantic.

Though like Marlon Brando, Richard Burton should have been way too old to portray a rebellious youth, he certainly overcomes it with a bravura performance. Burton saw the play on the London stage and went to author John Osbourne and told him he wanted to do the screen version.

For the screen version the producers had the good sense to hire Osbourne to write all the additional scenes needed for a film. The play as presented on stage takes place entirely within the apartment of married couple Richard Burton and Mary Ure. He's a lower class youth who's married well beyond his station. Class and station are quite a bit more rigid in Europe than they are here. He's got a dead end job with a peddler's license in an open air market.

In generations gone by the character of Jimmy Porter would have been off for adventure in some faraway place with a strange sounding name that the United Kingdom had as a part of its empire&commonwealth. But the empire is no more and British society as a whole was adjusting to it in the post World War II years. So all Mr. Burton can do is play his raging trumpet and take out his frustrations on all around him.

Mary Ure repeated her role from both the Drury Lane and Broadway productions and she and Burton are joined by a good ensemble with Claire Bloom, Edith Evans, Gary Raymond in the main feature parts. Also look for Donald Pleasance in an early role as an officious inspector at the market, the kind of bureaucrat you love to hate.

Although the UK is still around minus the empire, Look Back In Anger is a fascinating look back to post World War II Great Britain.

Those people in Britain who hark back to some kind of mythical golden age. Meet Jimmy Porter from 1959. Here is a well balanced individual. He has a chip on both shoulders!

Jimmy Porter (Richard Burton) is an angry young man in Derby. A working class lad with a university degree who is bitter at the world and whatever injustices it holds.

Jimmy works in a market stall with his amiable Welsh lodger Cliff, both enjoy jazz in the evenings. Jimmy is married to an upper middle class wife Alison (Mary Ure) who he is constantly mean to. Cliff tries to keep the peace.

When Alison invites her actress friend Helena (Clair Bloom) to stay with them. Tension between the couple increases especially with someone close to Jimmy becoming seriously ill. Jimmy also despises Helena and Alison leaves him unable to tell him that she is pregnant.

In a twist, Helena who also loathes Jimmy ends up becoming his lover. It leads to the viewer to think if she engineered Alison's departure.

Director Tony Richardson was inspired by the French New Wave of realist cinema. It features a powerhouse performance from Burton. All rage and fury yet compassionate to the little fellow, here an Indian market trader constantly discriminated against.

Looking back at the film, Jimmy Porter comes across as a petty mean bully against his wife rather than a grey bleak post war Britain unsure of itself with the loss of an empire. He could had social climbed the corporate ladder with his degree but seems to have wasted any potential opportunities.

Look Back in Anger heralded a new type of film with a different portrayal of the working classes, more raw and honest. Ironically writer John Osborne who wrote the original stage play became a country squire later in life. The original angry young man ended up being rather fond of the establishment that he once detested.

LOOK BACK IN ANGER has the distinction of being one of the first kitchen sink dramas that would become all the rage in the early 1960s. It's an adaptation of the famous John Osborne play about an angry young man and the love triangle in which he finds himself involving his wife and her best friend. I was surprised to see that Nigel Kneale adapted the story for the screen as this is well away from his comfort zone of science fiction and weirdness.

The film features a typically bullish performance from Richard Burton as the protagonist who spends the entire running time bullying the women in his life (apart from his mother, as he loves her). Yes, the film is in essence a couple of of hours of Burton abusing people, so I didn't find it particularly entertaining. The characters are certainly well drawn with plenty of depth and more than realistic, but as a slice-of-life story nothing much really happens during the running time (there are no character arcs or anything like that) and I was left feeling depressed about what I'd just watched more than anything else.