A Place in the Sun is frequently cited as one of the greats of American cinema, but I doubt many 21st century viewers would agree. As a tale of America's haves and have nots, the movie still has a degree of thematic heft, but the storytelling is sluggish and hugely melodramatic. All the key plot developments are clumsily telegraphed. And from a legal standpoint the courtroom trial in the final reel is ludicrous. There are also some curious moments worth mentioning in light of the Oscar nominations for director George Stevens and actress Shelley Winters. In two of Winters' key scenes Stevens chooses to shoot her almost entirely from behind (in the first she tells George she's pregnant; in the second she finds out he's abandoned her to be with Angela). It's possible that Stevens simply thought it was interesting to frame those scenes as he did. It's more likely that his main concern was keeping the focus on Montgomery Clift. But I wouldn't mind betting that he was also determined not to build too much sympathy for Winter's character, Alice, as the single, pregnant girl left in the lurch. God forbid the audience should sympathise with her, rather than her killer! Which makes it all the more remarkable that Winters scored a best actress nomination anyway. Whatever the directorial motivations here, they now seem transparently manipulative and more than somewhat distasteful. And the same can be said for the determination to make Alice both frumpy and whiny, as though that also makes George less of a monster. If A Place in the Sun still has any legitimate claims on greatness, then it's surely only for the genuine star power of Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. Their charisma lights up the screen, even when their actual performances fall short.
Review of A Place in the Sun
