Written and directed by Charles Burnett, To Sleep with Anger is the story of a Southern gentleman who arrives at the home of an old friend in South Central Los Angeles where his presence would shape the foundation and life of his friend and his family. The film is an exploration of a family whose attempt to retain their ideas amidst a simmer of tension within the family that is heightened more by their visitor. Starring Danny Glover, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, Carl Lumbly, Vonetta McGee, Richard Brooks, and Sheryl Lee Ralph. To Sleep with Anger is a haunting yet intoxicating film from Charles Burnett.
The film revolves around a troubled family who are visited by an old family friend from the South whose presence would only add a lot of turmoil and chaos into their lives as well as bring in a taste of the old South. It’s a film that explores a family whose life that is steeped in values and tradition that is being tested through changing times as the added presence of an old friend only stir a pot that is already boiling. Charles Burnett’s screenplay opens with a look into the life of Gideon (Paul Butler) and Suzie (Mary Alice) as they tend to their home with a garden and chicken coop in the backyard while they watch their youngest grandson in Sunny (DeVaughn Nixon) with the help of their eldest granddaughter Rhonda (Reina King). They have two adult sons in Junior (Carl Lumbly) who is married to Pat (Vonetta McGee) who is expecting another child as they’re Rhonda’s parents while the youngest son known as Babe Brother (Richard Brooks) is Sunny’s father and is married to the real estate agent Linda (Sheryl Lee Ralph). Junior is more responsible while Babe Brother is irresponsible as he barely works and often goes out late at night.
The arrival of Harry (Danny Glover) is a surprise to Gideon and Suzie as he arrives traveling from Detroit to Oakland and decided to stop by to visit them. Yet, his visit would also have him bring in ideas of the old South ranging from corn liquor, blues music, and all sorts of things where he would reminisce with Gideon and give Babe Brother advice on money. Many of Gideon and Suzie’s friends would arrive to see Harry with some feeling uneasy about his presence as Linda who admittedly isn’t entirely fond of Babe Brother’s parents is troubled more by Harry and his influence on Babe Brother. Even in the film’s second half where Harry’s presence is already created this sense of discord and atmosphere that becomes far more unsettling as the story progresses towards its third act with Suzie being aware of the darkness that is lurking in Harry.
Burnett’s direction is definitely mesmerizing in terms of the imagery that he presents where it opens with these abstract images of fire where a bowl of plastic fruit is being burned while a man on a chair is also on fire. Shot on location in Los Angeles and in the South Central area, the film does play into this world that is different from the modern world as much of it is shot in the suburbs with some locations around train station tracks and at a small rocky creek. While there are a few wide shots to establish some of the locations as well as create some recurring images such as a kid throwing pigeons around the neighborhood or another boy trying to play the trumpet correctly. Much of Burnett’s direction is emphasized on close-ups and medium shots as it play into multiple characters in a room or scenes that just involves Harry as he is alone either minding his own business or plotting something big. Still, Burnett showcases this culture of old American Southern culture during a party scene as well as a few moments involving Harry and his friends as it harkens back to a moment in time when it was simple but also dangerous.
That air of danger that looms throughout the film is what makes the drama so intriguing and why Babe Brother is attracted to the wild world that Harry offers. It is a world that is unpredictable but also enticing in the kind of rewards that Harry would get and such but also a taste that is definitely disconnected from the modern world. The atmosphere of the film through Burnett’s direction definitely becomes uneasy as it relates to Gideon being unexpectedly ill while the tension involving Babe Brother and Junior starts to increase with the former already becoming less responsible and more troubled following a walk with Harry through the woods. The film’s third act which involves a rainy night and Babe Brother’s rash decision to join Harry back to the South would be the tipping point yet it would be followed by not just revelations about the family but also a world that Gideon and Suzie are forced to confront that play into some of the darkest aspects of their old life. Overall, Burnett crafts an eerie yet rapturous film about a family’s life be shaken by a mysterious visitor.
Cinematographer Walt Lloyd does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward with its emphasis on low-key lighting for some scenes at night including the interior settings while a lot of the daytime scenes are presented in a more natural approach. Editor Nancy Richardson does brilliant work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some stylish montages to play into the film’s entrancing tone as it relates to the recurring imagery while also help to play up the air of dramatic suspense. Production designer Penny Barrett and art director Troy Myers do fantastic work with the interior of the homes of Gideon and Suzie along with their chicken coop and garden outside of their home as well as the more modernist interiors of the home that Linda and Babe Brother live in.
Costume designer Gaye Shannon-Burnett does nice work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with Linda wearing more posh-like clothing for her job while Harry often wears a suit and a fedora. The sound work of Patrick M. Griffith is terrific in capturing the atmosphere of some of the locations as well as the sound of the trumpet from the neighborhood boy and the way music is presented on location. The film’s music by Stephen James Taylor is wonderful for its mixture of jazz and blues that play into the dark and simmering tone of the film as well as playing up the dramatic suspense that occurs throughout the film while music supervisor Budd Carr creates a soundtrack that features a mixture of music ranging from blues, gospel, jazz, and R&B from Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, and Z.Z. Hill.
The casting by Gail Levin and Lauren Lloyd is superb as it feature some notable small roles from Jimmy Witherspoon as a friend of Gideon and Suzie who sings a blues classic, Wonderful Smith as the local preacher, Greta Brown as the neighbor Virginia, Davis Roberts as a friend of Harry in Okra, Julius Harris as an old friend of Harry in Herman, Sy Richardson as Hattie’s husband Marsh who has a grudge towards Harry, DeVaughn Walter Nixon as Babe Brother and Linda’s young son Sunny who often observes everything around him, Reina King as Junior and Pat’s daughter Rhonda, and Ethel Ayler in a terrific performance as family friend Hattie who had a past with Harry as she is extremely uncomfortable with his presence. Vonetta McGee is fantastic as Pat as Junior’s pregnant wife who is wary of Harry while is often the mediator for everyone involved. Carl Lumbly is superb as Junior as Gideon and Suzie’s eldest and more responsible son who is always there to help as he also tries to get his younger brother to help out more and tell him to grow up. Richard Brooks is excellent as Babe Brother whose real name is Samuel as a young man that is unsure about his role as he often goes out where he is seduced by the tumultuous would that Harry has to offer.
Sheryl Lee Ralph is brilliant as Babe Brother’s wife Linda as a real-estate agent who doesn’t feel like she belongs with Babe Brother’s family yet becomes more disturbed by Babe Brother’s time with Harry who makes her uneasy forcing her to get the help from Babe Brother’s family. Paul Butler and Mary Alice are amazing in their respective roles as Gideon and Suzie as a couple who live in South Central trying to live good lives until Harry’s arrival as the former copes with becoming ill while the latter is a more reserved and quiet person who slowly realizes what kind of trouble that Harry brings. Finally, there’s Danny Glover in a tremendous performance as Harry as this charming yet devilish Southern gentleman who arrives unexpectedly as he brings in traditions and old ideas of the South where he adds to an already troubled situation involving Gideon and his family. Glover’s performance has this air of danger whenever he walks into a room as he’s also a superstitious man that holds on to these old ideas as well as carry a knife that just adds to the level of discomfort he brings into a room as it is an iconic performance from Glover.
To Sleep with Anger is a spectacular film from Charles Burnett that features an incredible performance from Danny Glover. Along with its ensemble cast, chilling music score and soundtrack, themes of family dynamics, tradition, and old ideals. It’s a film that explore a family whose visitor arrives as this embodiment of temptation and evil as well as be a man of ambiguity into his intentions. In the end, To Sleep with Anger is a sensational film from Charles Burnett.
Charles Burnett Films: Killer of Sheep - My Brother's Wedding - (The Glass Shield) – (The Annihilation of Fish) – (Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation)
© thevoid99 2019
Written, directed, and shot by Charles Burnett, My Brother’s Wedding is the story of a man who reluctantly agrees to be his brother’s best-man for an upcoming wedding to a woman of a higher social class as he struggles with his future and what to do for his friend and his family. The film is an exploration of a man dealing with changes in his family as he also copes with the need to help out a friend who had just been released from prison. Starring Everett Silas, Jesse Holms, and Gaye Shannon-Burnett. My Brother’s Wedding is a rapturous and evocative film from Charles Burnett.
The film follows an underachieving man in his early 30s who works for his parents dry cleaning service as he’s been dealing with the fact that his older and successful brother is about to marry a woman he doesn’t like due to her upper-middle class background. At the same time, he tries to help a longtime friend find a job and not get into trouble where they spend a lot of time hanging out in the ghettos of Los Angeles. Charles Burnett’s screenplay doesn’t have much of a plot as it’s more of a study of a man in Pierce Mundy (Everett Silas) trying to deal with the changes in his life as he is trying to help others including family friends and the family of his best friend Soldier (Ronnie Bell) who had just gotten out of prison. The film’s third act as it play into tragedy where it play into the decision that Pierce is dealing with as it takes place on the day of his brother’s wedding where he’s the best man. It also showcase that for all of his loyalty towards his friend and his environment, there’s a major flaw about him in the way her perceives the way his brother’s fiancée and her family live without any kind of real struggle.
Burnett’s direction does have elements of style but much of it is straightforward as it is shot on location in South Central Los Angeles. Shot on the 1:33:1 full-frame aspect ratio, Burnett does use some wide shots to capture the scope of the location but maintains an intimacy with his usage of close-ups and medium shots. Notably in the way he captures Pierce’s life with the family as he would work in their laundromat where it doesn’t have much space but Burnett is able to move the camera and show exactly what it is like and why Pierce feels comfortable in the setting despite being a slacker in some ways. It’s in sharp contrast to a tense dinner scene with his the family of his brother’s fiancée where he makes it clear he doesn’t like what they represent nor how they live as it does show a sense of ignorance where Pierce’s mother feels embarrassed for what he’s doing when she told him to behave earlier in the film.
Also serving as the film’s cinematographer in which Burnett is able to get a lot of color and natural lighting in its low-budget film stock. Burnett would maintain something that is real in the way life in South Central is portrayed before it would become increasingly violent through the arrival of crack. Even as there’s an air of innocence mixed in with a bit of danger as Pierce’s parents and a family that Pierce occasionally helps out would carry guns knowing how dangerous the ghetto is. The film’s third act is about this air of tragedy that would affect Pierce where he really doesn’t have his priorities straight into what he wants to do as the event he needs to go is the same day as his brother’s wedding day. The film’s climax on this wedding day is where it is about what Pierce will do as the ending is a reflection of who he is as a person and what he must deal with in its aftermath. Overall, Burnett creates a compelling yet somber film about a man coming to terms over his loyalty towards his friends and family on an important day for the latter.
Editor Thomas Penick does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into some of the film’s humor. Set decorator Penny Barrett does nice work with the look of the laundromat’s interior as well as the look of some of the homes in its interior setting. Sound mixer Veda Campbell and Arthur Lopez do terrific work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of some of the locations as well as a few scenes such as the dinner scene. The film’s soundtrack largely mixes elements of blues, gospel, and R&B to play into the environment that the characters live in.
The film’s superb cast include some notable small roles and appearances from Sy Richardson and France E. Nealy as Sonia’s parents whom Pierce isn’t fond of because of their social background, Cora Lee and Tim Wright as an elderly couple that Pierce helps out as they’re family friends, Angela Burnett as a teenage girl who has a crush on Pierce as she frequents at the laundromat, Sally Easter as Soldier’s mother who asks Pierce to watch over her son, Dennis Kember as Pierce’s father who likes to wrestle with him, and Monte Easter as Pierce’s brother Wendell as a successful attorney who is about to get married as he is upset over Pierce’s attitude. Jessie Holms is wonderful as Pierce and Wendell’s mother as a kind and no-nonsense woman who is trying to maintain some peace but also wanting Pierce to behave for the new people coming into the family.
Gaye Shannon-Burnett is terrific as Wendell’s fiancée Sonia as a woman who wants to get to know Pierce but often feels like a target as she tries to defend her background and what she does. Ronnie Bell is fantastic as Pierce’s friend Soldier as a man that just got out of prison as he spends much of his time dealing with mischief and sleeping with a bunch of women often getting Pierce into trouble. Finally, there’s Everett Silas in a brilliant performance as Pierce Mundy as a man in his 30s that isn’t keen on the upcoming changes in his life as he’s also very ignorant about Sonia and her family as well as being unsure of what to do in the film’s climax as it play into tragedy and where his priorities should be.
My Brother’s Keeper is a remarkable film from Charles Burnett. It’s a film that explores life in South Central before the emergence of violent gang wars and the crack epidemic of the 1980s where a man deals with his own ways and his resistance to change. It’s also a film that showcases an air of innocence in those times despite that sense of danger in that world where this man thrives in unaware of its drawbacks. In the end, My Brother’s Keeper is an incredible film from Charles Burnett.
Charles Burnett Films: Killer of Sheep - To Sleep with Anger – (The Glass Shield) – (The Annihilation of Fish) – (Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation)
© thevoid99 2018
Written, directed, shot, and edited by Charles Burnett, Killer of Sheep is the story about life in Watts district in Los Angeles that explores the world of urban city life in that area. It’s a film that explores the many different lives of that area as well as what was happening during the 1970s in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Movement and before the crack epidemic of the 1980s. The result is an evocative yet mesmerizing film from Charles Burnett.
The film is essentially the story about a few days in the life of various people living in the poverty-stricken Watts district in Los Angeles. Notably as it would revolve around a family trying to get by with what they have as a man works at a slaughterhouse in order to feed his family while helping out whatever friends he has in the ghetto. While the film doesn’t have much of a plot nor anything that is traditional in terms of structure or dramatic schematics. Charles Burnett is more interested in capturing the realism that occurs in the ghettos of Los Angeles where even though it’s a place full of ruins and not much is happening. There is an air of innocence in the way children play around in these areas as well as the way people interact with each other despite the harshness of their environment.
Burnett’s direction of the film definitely recalls a lot of the visual elements of the neo-realist films of Italian cinema in the 1940s and 1950s. Through its 16mm black-and-white photography with a bit of grain present, there is something to Burnett’s presentation of the film that is really unlike anything out there. With this photography, Burnett brings a majestic beauty to the harsh realities that occur while utilizing some interesting framing devices to capture the realism that is present in the film. Notably in the way he frames characters through close-ups and medium shots to help capture the intimacy and some tender moments such as a slow dance between a couple in their bedroom.
There are also some moments where Burnett knows something good isn’t going to happen which does play to the neo-realist tone of the film. Even as it reveals something bleak that is going to happen where it could go into an area of melodrama but Burnett prefers to keep the dramatics restrained in order to maintain its realism. There are also lingering images of the slaughterhouse filled with all of these sheep running around as it plays to the struggle of what one of the film’s central characters is going through with its methodical editing. Overall, Burnett creates a very fascinating yet extraordinary film about life in the ghetto.
The sound work of Charles Bracy is superb for the atmosphere it creates to capture the world of the ghetto from the locations outside to the scenes inside. The film’s soundtrack features an array of music ranging from blues, soul, and classical music from artists like Earth, Wind, & Fire, Dinah Washington, Paul Robeson, Elmore James, Louis Armstrong, and many others to play out the sense of melancholia and innocence of the locations. The film’s cast that features performances from mostly non-actors or non-professionals like Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett, Eugene Cherry, and Jack Drummond are amazing for the naturalistic performances that are in display for the film as they all bring a sense of radiance to the film itself.
Killer of Sheep is a tremendous film from Charles Burnett. It is truly one of the most exhilarating portraits of life in the Los Angeles ghettos of the 1970s without succumbing to clichés or any kind of dramatic tropes. It’s also a film that showcases a world that is very unique and presented with a sense of beauty that is unmatched by anything that has come before and since. In the end, Killer of Sheep is an outstanding film from Charles Burnett.
Charles Burnett Films: My Brother's Wedding - To Sleep with Anger - (The Glass Shield) - (The Annihilation of Fish) - (Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation)
© thevoid99 2013
