I first watched this movie as a teenager and thought it was terrific. Now, at 62, I wonder what I saw in it. It is so poorly directed that it does not surprise that I have never heard of Robert Ellis Miller except for this film. He does not know how to get the most out of a scene, not even with extremely talented actors standing before him.
Of course, this is not his fault entirely. The screenplay is unfocused with clumsy dialog and crowded with people who fail to mesh. The Percy Rodrigues character is particularly heavy-handed. The central relationship between Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke is never really established so that the stakes are virtually non-existent and the dramatic ending is less powerful and moving than simply curious and baffling.
It troubles that such a well-intended endeavor should fall so far short of its objectives. Although I have never read Ms. McCullers' book, her work is familiar to me and I am certain her story would have benefited from more responsible planning.
The cast can hardly be faulted. Arkin and Locke clearly earned their Oscar nominations for outstanding work, and Chuck McCann probably deserved one too. Arkin especially dominates, pulling more from his part with less to say than a multitude of more audible performers. He is miraculously eloquent. Cicely Tyson and Stacy Keach are also excellent, often rising above the indulgent lines the are given, in portrayals which suggest what lay ahead for them both.
If everyone involved on this project had been as conscientious as these actors, the result would have undoubtedly been an infinitely richer achievement.
Of course, this is not his fault entirely. The screenplay is unfocused with clumsy dialog and crowded with people who fail to mesh. The Percy Rodrigues character is particularly heavy-handed. The central relationship between Alan Arkin and Sondra Locke is never really established so that the stakes are virtually non-existent and the dramatic ending is less powerful and moving than simply curious and baffling.
It troubles that such a well-intended endeavor should fall so far short of its objectives. Although I have never read Ms. McCullers' book, her work is familiar to me and I am certain her story would have benefited from more responsible planning.
The cast can hardly be faulted. Arkin and Locke clearly earned their Oscar nominations for outstanding work, and Chuck McCann probably deserved one too. Arkin especially dominates, pulling more from his part with less to say than a multitude of more audible performers. He is miraculously eloquent. Cicely Tyson and Stacy Keach are also excellent, often rising above the indulgent lines the are given, in portrayals which suggest what lay ahead for them both.
If everyone involved on this project had been as conscientious as these actors, the result would have undoubtedly been an infinitely richer achievement.