A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Written by Tennessee Williams & Oscar Saul
Directed by Elia Kazan
1998 List Ranking: 45
2007 List Ranking: 47
My first introduction to A Streetcar Named Desire, both the play and the film, came in early 2011, in a drama class at UCI. I recall that I enjoyed the play and the film at the time, so I was excited to see it again, nearly ten years later. Watching it now, however, I was struck by just how annoying these characters are. Perhaps I just wasn’t in the the right headspace when watching it this time, but I was thoroughly unimpressed.
The film concerns the Kowalski’s, Stanley (Marlon Brando) and Stella (Kim Hunter), who live in a run-down apartment in the French Quarter of New Orleans. They are visited by Stella’s sister Blanche (Vivian Leigh) who has a dark dark secret that she tries to keep hidden. Stanley very quickly deduces that something is wrong with Blanche, and he spends the film antagonizing her (and Stella) (and everyone, basically) until he discovers what it is. Then he rapes her and she has a mental breakdown (yes, you read that absolutely correctly).
Stella (Kim Hunter) and Stanley (Marlon Brando) look over Blanche’s things
Perhaps my biggest issue with the film is the performances of the three leads, who, particularly Brando and Leigh, spend the entire film at level 100, and never letting up. Brando spends the entire film being ruthless to or about Blanche (granted, some of that is caused by the extreme sexual tension between the two), or screaming “STELLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA” in a now almost-cliche moment. It’s not necessarily that he’s bad at the role, it’s just that it’s relentless in its intensity. On the other hand, Kim Hunter is just kind of…there, having such little backbone that she is almost forgettable. The film changes the ending of the play to give her a bigger resolve and strength, but it’s a bit too little, too late.
Blanche (Vivian Leigh) and Brando
The biggest exhaustion of the film is Leigh. I’ve only seen her in Gone With the Wind, where she was equally exhausting, and here she just plays a wilting southern flower, complete with clutching of pearls and swooning. It is, essentially, the same role she played in Wind, just with a darker backstory (she even gets raped in both films which is, understandably, a bit distressing). Her personality is so big, and so chock-full of mood swings, that the viewer just wants her to shut up after a while. Piling her performance on top of Brando’s is a recipe for utter exhaustion.
Karl Malden, the film's only saving grace, with Vivian Leigh
The only saving grace of this film I can identify is the presence and performance of Karl Malden as a potential suitor for Blanche. I have always enjoyed Malden’s work and this film continues that. He’s a sort of precursor to John C. Reilly in a sense, a sweet guy who wants to give his heart but unfortunately sets his sights on the one woman who leaves nothing but carnage in her wake (WHY I compare this to John C. Reilly, I really don’t know, but I get that general vibe from his performances (particularly Chicago)).
I really want to write more about this film, but I really struggle to find anything of value, good or bad, to comment on for this film. The plot is interesting, despite a rape that really doesn’t serve a purpose (why not have Blanche willingly sleep with Stanley, as she clearly wants to, and have something else trigger her mental breakdown?), but the plot is masked and marred by the exhausting and over-the-top performances of Brando and Leigh. I haven’t asked much as to why certain films have made this list, but this is definitely one of them: I see almost no redeeming or groundbreaking value to the film, so its presence here seems out of place.
FINAL GRADE: D+
