Being an early fan of black & white flicks from the late fifties, as well as a devoted Richard Burton follower, I must say I have waited for this movie with great anticipation. I must say, sadly though, that, despite the picture's attempts of shedding some light on the so-called "British reality at the time", only the performance of Richard Burton really saves this one from drowning in the sea of typical semi-documentary movies.
Basically, I do believe and respect the message of the movie influenced by the various events of those particular times, but it doesn't really work here. I mean, I understand the crisis people were facing back then and I agree it was an important issue, but showing us the historical background by presenting the effects of such a process on a typical family just ... well, frankly, doesn't prove to be interesting. That can also be a very lame excuse for the lack of character depth, Jimmy Porter being the most developed. But even Porter has many character flaws ; he plays A trumpet (ok, but what does that mean to him, how does it fit in his character image and the plot), he's mad with grief and everlasting sorrow transformed into anger because of his loved one's loss (ok, it does play a part in the plot later, but basically no one gives a damn about it, no one really pities Jimmy Porter, everyone seems to float in a state of blissful ignorance around him, treating him like a 100% savage monster and practically stripping him of natural emotions). In short - Burton's character, no doubt being the best character in this picture, could be developed in these typical and non-typical branches, making him a worthy and interesting figure.
The rest is... well, close to pathetic. The wife is coming towards a breakdown in the beginning of the movie and yet she ends up in Jim's arms in calm reunion, no outburst, no equal conflict, no nothing. The pretty boy, Cliff, is someone really strange and definitely not fitting for this kind of situation. He can't seem to be holding to any logical rules of morality when it comes to protecting Jim's wife (which he does with two or three muttered words throughout the entire picture). In the same time, he's all friends with Jimmy, like an unnatural, transparent entity, floating from one character to another. And it's not like I don't see an attempted analogy to the bridge thing between two sides, I see that perfectly - it's just frigging' unconvincing and shallow. And of course, Claire Bloom. Oh, my dear Ms. Bloom, the same actress has been praised by me about a year ago when watching "The Haunting". The wasted potential, the wasted opportunities that came up when Claire Bloom joined the crew and apparently became a character opposite to the little, meek wife of Jimmy Porter. Besides going through series of irrational behavior and bad performance, the rest of the crew really can't bring out the intended emotions out of their characters, truly a pity.
The music, mostly consisting of Jimmie's trumpet solos, was quite enjoyable as it added a droplet of the good old British pub climate. It's a shame the spell was quickly broken by an unfortunate or bad time dialog.
Having no more to say, I would like to recommend this movie to all Burton fans because I believe it shows an interesting stage in his career and evolution as an actor. Here, Richard Burton is, little by little, morphing into that perfect form of acting which he presented later to the delight of the audiences worldwide.
Basically, I do believe and respect the message of the movie influenced by the various events of those particular times, but it doesn't really work here. I mean, I understand the crisis people were facing back then and I agree it was an important issue, but showing us the historical background by presenting the effects of such a process on a typical family just ... well, frankly, doesn't prove to be interesting. That can also be a very lame excuse for the lack of character depth, Jimmy Porter being the most developed. But even Porter has many character flaws ; he plays A trumpet (ok, but what does that mean to him, how does it fit in his character image and the plot), he's mad with grief and everlasting sorrow transformed into anger because of his loved one's loss (ok, it does play a part in the plot later, but basically no one gives a damn about it, no one really pities Jimmy Porter, everyone seems to float in a state of blissful ignorance around him, treating him like a 100% savage monster and practically stripping him of natural emotions). In short - Burton's character, no doubt being the best character in this picture, could be developed in these typical and non-typical branches, making him a worthy and interesting figure.
The rest is... well, close to pathetic. The wife is coming towards a breakdown in the beginning of the movie and yet she ends up in Jim's arms in calm reunion, no outburst, no equal conflict, no nothing. The pretty boy, Cliff, is someone really strange and definitely not fitting for this kind of situation. He can't seem to be holding to any logical rules of morality when it comes to protecting Jim's wife (which he does with two or three muttered words throughout the entire picture). In the same time, he's all friends with Jimmy, like an unnatural, transparent entity, floating from one character to another. And it's not like I don't see an attempted analogy to the bridge thing between two sides, I see that perfectly - it's just frigging' unconvincing and shallow. And of course, Claire Bloom. Oh, my dear Ms. Bloom, the same actress has been praised by me about a year ago when watching "The Haunting". The wasted potential, the wasted opportunities that came up when Claire Bloom joined the crew and apparently became a character opposite to the little, meek wife of Jimmy Porter. Besides going through series of irrational behavior and bad performance, the rest of the crew really can't bring out the intended emotions out of their characters, truly a pity.
The music, mostly consisting of Jimmie's trumpet solos, was quite enjoyable as it added a droplet of the good old British pub climate. It's a shame the spell was quickly broken by an unfortunate or bad time dialog.
Having no more to say, I would like to recommend this movie to all Burton fans because I believe it shows an interesting stage in his career and evolution as an actor. Here, Richard Burton is, little by little, morphing into that perfect form of acting which he presented later to the delight of the audiences worldwide.