6Aug
Let it be known: I love coming of age stories. Yes they can be rather saccharine and mind-numbingly formulaic at times, but for me that is sometimes the appeal of the pictures. We are all guilty of looking at our youth from a romanticized perspective, although we will swear up and down that our recollection of these events are exactly as we say they are.
My selection from this week’s overlooked film – Liberty Heights (1999) tends to tell its story a little bit straighter but that does not make it any less enjoyable. In fact, that is one of the appealing aspects of the film for me, especially since it is not a period in I know about first-hand.
What I find so fascinating about this period of time in America is mainly what I have learned from history. Underneath the surface of suburban tranquility, there lied an undercurrent of an impending social and cultural upheaval. So it is interesting in looking back at a time that is not part of my life experience through the eyes of someone who lived it.
This week I have selected another film from the year 1995 from France; it is a film that some of you may know about but I think that it is still worth mentioning. It is La Fille Seule (A Single Girl). The film was directed by Benoit Jacquot and starred Virginie Ledoyen in a role that brought her some attention in Hollywood. Most of the English-speaking public may recognize her from the Danny Boyle-helmed Leonardo DiCaprio-starring The Beach.
This week’s selection is the 1957 film A Hatful of Rain. The film stars Eva Marie Saint, Don Murray, Anthony Franciosa, and Lloyd Nolan. The film is based on the stageplay of the same name and was written by Michael V. Gazzo. He also adapted the play for the screen with an assist from Alfred Hayes and (then blacklisted Carl Foreman); Foreman was not to receive screen credit from the Writer’s Guild of America until 1998, 14 years after his death (source: Wikipedia).
The film was directed by Fred Zinnemann (From Here to Eternity, High Noon) with a musical score by frequent Hitchcock collaborator, Bernard Herrmann.
