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Reviews
The Glass Menagerie (1973)
Not bad.
"A Glass Menagerie" is a play by Tennessee Williams that has been adapted into various movies, namely a made for television edition starring Katherine Hepburn. The play conveys a captivating story that can only be described as Hepburn's thick southern accent. It just about made the movie for me. The play focuses on a fatherless, poor family featuring a daughter who is incredibly shy, a mother whose sole goal in life is to find a man for her shy daughter, and a son whose hobbies consist of getting drunk and going to see movies. Naturally, this creates some friction within in the family which is highlighted by the arguments between the mother and son, played by the wonderful Sam Waterston. No sarcasm, the chemistry between Waterston and Hepburn make this movie worth watching (and so do the accents). As with many other plays, "A Glass Menagerie" lacks in its climax, which directly precedes the curtain, though the play is by far not the worst offender in this respect. "A Glass Menagerie" blows away any expectations that I had for it, mostly because of the fantastic acting from Hepburn and Waterston, but I also had very little expectations going into the film. If you're a fan of theater I highly recommend this movie, if for nothing except the star power.
A Doll's House (1973)
meh.
If you want to watch a movie, A Doll's House is for you. The movie is just about a word for word interpretation of Henrik Ibsen's play of the same name, only varying when it serves the movie to break up scenes. There are no liberties taken with the source, no Romeo + Juliet like shenanigans. The play takes place in 19th century Sweden and so does the movie. Costumes and settings are entirely as you would picture from reading the play. I wish they would have taken some risks with this film, but I suppose it's better to be safe and not bad than risky but awful. If you have read the play, then you know exactly what to expect from the movie. If you haven't, then you probably shouldn't expect from the movie. Mildly interesting and decently acted, A Doll's House sets no expectations from which it could fulfill. I started this film expecting a movie form of a play, and that is exactly what I received. No part really stood out to me, though Claire Bloom's performance was memorable. This could simply be because the rest of the movie was not. If you have an afternoon to kill, and you've already seen your entire Netflix queue, then I suppose I suggest this film. This movie is no must-see, but it's also not absolutely horrible (looking at you G.I. Joe: Retaliation). One thumb mildly raised, stream it from Netflix if you have nothing else to do. The only thing you have to lose is about 90 minutes, which will be spent in a sort of entertained state.