The Glass Menagerie Review
I recently viewed The Glass Menagerie which was filmed in 1973 by Anthony Harvey. The story begins with Sam Waterston, who portrays the moody dreamer Tom Wingfield, walking alone at night down a cold and wet city street. He begins to tell us a recollection of his home life, the life that he left behind. His memory begins with his mother Amanda Winglfield which is played by Katherine Hepburn, and his younger sister Laura Wingfield who is brought to life by actress Joanna Miles. Right away you can tell that Amanda is a demanding woman who wants reality to mimic her dreams, but more often than not they never match up. Laura immediately strikes the audience as someone who just wants to please everyone. Tom however is like his rebellious father who abandoned them for the "wild" world outside 11 years prior. Laura was afflicted with a disease when she was tiny that left her crippled, which also makes her extremely shy. So instead of interacting with the outside world and being as flirtatious as her mother, she hides at home and entertains herself with her collection of glass animals, aka her glass menagerie. Her world is as delicate as her glass; thusly Laura's mental state and personality are displayed through her menagerie. Of course that doesn't do for Amanda, and she at the beginning of the year had signed Laura up for classes at the local college, but Amanda soon finds that Laura stopped going after just 2 days, and hasn't been going the past 6 weeks. She is infuriated that her daughter's future has been tossed aside so she pushes Tom to bring home a "gentleman caller" for Laura to court. He does and to everyone's surprise, but Laura's dismay, the man he brings home is Laura's old high school crush; Jim O'Conner who is briefly played by Michael Moriarty. One thing leads to another and soon Jim & Laura are alone together. He soon finds his way past her cleverly designed walls, and they end up kissing. But he reveals that he is engaged and Laura's world is destroyed along with her brother & her mother's relationship with Tom leaving forever. In the end we find Tom begging Laura to "blow out her candles" and leave his mind, and she finally does.
I recently viewed The Glass Menagerie which was filmed in 1973 by Anthony Harvey. The story begins with Sam Waterston, who portrays the moody dreamer Tom Wingfield, walking alone at night down a cold and wet city street. He begins to tell us a recollection of his home life, the life that he left behind. His memory begins with his mother Amanda Winglfield which is played by Katherine Hepburn, and his younger sister Laura Wingfield who is brought to life by actress Joanna Miles. Right away you can tell that Amanda is a demanding woman who wants reality to mimic her dreams, but more often than not they never match up. Laura immediately strikes the audience as someone who just wants to please everyone. Tom however is like his rebellious father who abandoned them for the "wild" world outside 11 years prior. Laura was afflicted with a disease when she was tiny that left her crippled, which also makes her extremely shy. So instead of interacting with the outside world and being as flirtatious as her mother, she hides at home and entertains herself with her collection of glass animals, aka her glass menagerie. Her world is as delicate as her glass; thusly Laura's mental state and personality are displayed through her menagerie. Of course that doesn't do for Amanda, and she at the beginning of the year had signed Laura up for classes at the local college, but Amanda soon finds that Laura stopped going after just 2 days, and hasn't been going the past 6 weeks. She is infuriated that her daughter's future has been tossed aside so she pushes Tom to bring home a "gentleman caller" for Laura to court. He does and to everyone's surprise, but Laura's dismay, the man he brings home is Laura's old high school crush; Jim O'Conner who is briefly played by Michael Moriarty. One thing leads to another and soon Jim & Laura are alone together. He soon finds his way past her cleverly designed walls, and they end up kissing. But he reveals that he is engaged and Laura's world is destroyed along with her brother & her mother's relationship with Tom leaving forever. In the end we find Tom begging Laura to "blow out her candles" and leave his mind, and she finally does.