Hold Tennessee Williams in very high regard indeed, and although his plays work better performed as filmed productions or television films that doesn't mean that they don't translate well to film. Even when toned down thematically there are good to great film adaptations, 'A Streetcar Named Desire' being the best. Come to think of it, 'Summer and Smoke' is one of the few to not do much for me and that was still watchable because of the incredible lead performance.
'Period of Adjustment' is not one of the best Tennessee Williams film adaptations and may not have the complex characterisations or as mature themes as others. It is a very easy and likeable watch though and is a good adaptation of a lesser known play that is actually one of Williams' most accessible, that it is also one of his most light-hearted for many will work in its favour. The film manages this light-heartedness as well while avoiding over-syruping and still taking the content seriously enough.
It's not perfect. The message could have been delivered with more subtlety, one of the biggest traps often fallen into with messages in film is heavy-handedness which is the case here.
Williams' work can be very melodramatic, 'Period of Adjustment' is no exception and for a play as comparitively light-hearted compared to other work of his as this the melodrama here can get over-heated. George Roy Hill did go on to do better with 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and 'The Sting', he was an inexperienced director at this point and it can show in some awkward shifts here and there (mostly though all things considered he does pretty well).
However, 'Period of Adjustment' looks great. Especially the photography, which is positively luminous and really enhances the sumptuous production design. The music suits the tone, without too much syrup or bombast. Williams' writing really shines through, it's funny, it's touching and it has the right amount of intensity. The story manages comedy and drama well individually, with the comedy well timed and rarely less than amusing and the drama poignant but never dreary, and balances them with coherence and without imbalance.
A big part of 'Period of Adjustment's' appeal is the cast. A cast against type, her more homely look very different from her usual glamorous image, Lois Nettleton is absolutely sublime and gives to me the film's best performance in a difficult role. Anthony Franciosa is excellent too in a role that actually does him justice, and Jim Hutton does bring charm and adept timing to a character that is very different to Hutton himself, a likeable actor playing an unlikeable character but one one doesn't completely hate. Jane Fonda is the biggest surprise though, am not a fan of her usually but her sparkling performance here is one of her better ones.
Summing up, there are better Tennessee Williams film adaptations but this does justice to an undervalued play. 7/10
'Period of Adjustment' is not one of the best Tennessee Williams film adaptations and may not have the complex characterisations or as mature themes as others. It is a very easy and likeable watch though and is a good adaptation of a lesser known play that is actually one of Williams' most accessible, that it is also one of his most light-hearted for many will work in its favour. The film manages this light-heartedness as well while avoiding over-syruping and still taking the content seriously enough.
It's not perfect. The message could have been delivered with more subtlety, one of the biggest traps often fallen into with messages in film is heavy-handedness which is the case here.
Williams' work can be very melodramatic, 'Period of Adjustment' is no exception and for a play as comparitively light-hearted compared to other work of his as this the melodrama here can get over-heated. George Roy Hill did go on to do better with 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' and 'The Sting', he was an inexperienced director at this point and it can show in some awkward shifts here and there (mostly though all things considered he does pretty well).
However, 'Period of Adjustment' looks great. Especially the photography, which is positively luminous and really enhances the sumptuous production design. The music suits the tone, without too much syrup or bombast. Williams' writing really shines through, it's funny, it's touching and it has the right amount of intensity. The story manages comedy and drama well individually, with the comedy well timed and rarely less than amusing and the drama poignant but never dreary, and balances them with coherence and without imbalance.
A big part of 'Period of Adjustment's' appeal is the cast. A cast against type, her more homely look very different from her usual glamorous image, Lois Nettleton is absolutely sublime and gives to me the film's best performance in a difficult role. Anthony Franciosa is excellent too in a role that actually does him justice, and Jim Hutton does bring charm and adept timing to a character that is very different to Hutton himself, a likeable actor playing an unlikeable character but one one doesn't completely hate. Jane Fonda is the biggest surprise though, am not a fan of her usually but her sparkling performance here is one of her better ones.
Summing up, there are better Tennessee Williams film adaptations but this does justice to an undervalued play. 7/10