A Hatful Of Rain (1957) :
Brief Review -
Medically and sociologically accurate, as they say, but a depressing watch for non-junkies. Don Murray is more powerful than morphine. Fred Zinnemann's cinema has sometimes left me stunned, and for the right reasons, but I had never expected him to make a film on a druggie and leave my nerves shaking. I don't know about others, but for someone like me who doesn't touch a drop of alcohol, cigarettes, or tobacco-forget drugs-A Hatful of Rain is a depressing watch. It is a hateful film, I must say. Why would someone enjoy watching things on a screen that they don't like to do in real life? For others, especially addictive ones, this might be a lesson, but I am not gonna speak on their behalf. When I saw "Requiem For a Dream," I was stunned and shattered, not because of the horrible consequences of drug addiction but because the film explored those scary visuals in a mind-shaking manner. A Hatful of Rain is not that dangerous, but yes, it does leave you shattered for a moment or so, especially the ending note. Speaking about the impact it created at the time of its release, the frank depiction of drug addiction was so rare that people started noticing physical changes in their own family members for a while. People also call it a medically and sociologically accurate account of the effects of morphine on an addict and his family. The performance of Don Murray will leave you stunned, if not the film. He is phenomenal, outstanding, and unbelievable! Eva Marie Saint as Celia is fantastic too. You can't expect a female character to be so disturbed, unhappy, stable, and yet strong at the same time, and what a knockout Eva was here. The other two fellas, Anthony Franciosa and Lloyd Nolan, add their brilliant support to leave you in awe. Fred Zinnemann has better films, but this was a gutsy one. So, it's fairly watchable.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Medically and sociologically accurate, as they say, but a depressing watch for non-junkies. Don Murray is more powerful than morphine. Fred Zinnemann's cinema has sometimes left me stunned, and for the right reasons, but I had never expected him to make a film on a druggie and leave my nerves shaking. I don't know about others, but for someone like me who doesn't touch a drop of alcohol, cigarettes, or tobacco-forget drugs-A Hatful of Rain is a depressing watch. It is a hateful film, I must say. Why would someone enjoy watching things on a screen that they don't like to do in real life? For others, especially addictive ones, this might be a lesson, but I am not gonna speak on their behalf. When I saw "Requiem For a Dream," I was stunned and shattered, not because of the horrible consequences of drug addiction but because the film explored those scary visuals in a mind-shaking manner. A Hatful of Rain is not that dangerous, but yes, it does leave you shattered for a moment or so, especially the ending note. Speaking about the impact it created at the time of its release, the frank depiction of drug addiction was so rare that people started noticing physical changes in their own family members for a while. People also call it a medically and sociologically accurate account of the effects of morphine on an addict and his family. The performance of Don Murray will leave you stunned, if not the film. He is phenomenal, outstanding, and unbelievable! Eva Marie Saint as Celia is fantastic too. You can't expect a female character to be so disturbed, unhappy, stable, and yet strong at the same time, and what a knockout Eva was here. The other two fellas, Anthony Franciosa and Lloyd Nolan, add their brilliant support to leave you in awe. Fred Zinnemann has better films, but this was a gutsy one. So, it's fairly watchable.
RATING - 6/10*
By - #samthebestest.