Jimmy Porter might be the most insufferable protagonist in all drama. Self-pitying and impotent in his politically motivated rage, he takes his rage out on his passive wife, whose sole sin is that she hasn't suffered enough in life due to her upper class upbringing. God forbid! It's telling that Jimmy's go-to word for insulting women is not any of the usual suspects, but "virgin." Jimmy craves people who are "alive," people willing to risk pain and messiness, and for him, a virgin is just the opposite, someone too scared to taste life. These are all interesting ideas, but Jimmy often seems the author of his own misery and all too content to make sure the people around him are miserable too.
In that regard, the film version of LOOK BACK IN ANGER at the very least tries to make Jimmy a bit more nuanced or at least less hypocritical in his whining and moaning about the system. We seem him try to make some small difference by helping out an immigrant seller at the market where he works. Of course, the system is rigged and even the working classes see no great need for loyalty. This subplot-- far from useless as some of the reviews here claim-- actually makes Jimmy more tragic and bearable. He's resigned himself to a theatrical misanthropy because he feels there is no fighting the system.
It's a well-directed and acted film on the whole. I liked it better than the play, even though Jimmy is still a lot to take and I have no idea why the women characters love him so much beyond the typical allure of the "bad boy."
In that regard, the film version of LOOK BACK IN ANGER at the very least tries to make Jimmy a bit more nuanced or at least less hypocritical in his whining and moaning about the system. We seem him try to make some small difference by helping out an immigrant seller at the market where he works. Of course, the system is rigged and even the working classes see no great need for loyalty. This subplot-- far from useless as some of the reviews here claim-- actually makes Jimmy more tragic and bearable. He's resigned himself to a theatrical misanthropy because he feels there is no fighting the system.
It's a well-directed and acted film on the whole. I liked it better than the play, even though Jimmy is still a lot to take and I have no idea why the women characters love him so much beyond the typical allure of the "bad boy."