2024 Blind Spot Series: East of Eden

Based on the novel by John Steinbeck, East of Eden is the story of a young man in the early 1900s during World War I who vies for the affection of his father who tends to favor his brother where he goes on a journey for his own identity. Directed by Elia Kazan and screenplay by Paul Osborn, the film is a take of the Cain and Abel story in which two brothers spar for the devotion of their deeply religious father as one of them copes with his own issues while learning about his estranged mother. Starring James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Burl Ives, Richard Davalos, Lois Smith, and Jo Van Fleet. East of Eden is a majestic and intoxicating film from Elia Kazan.

Set in 1917 North California in the town of Salinas and the nearby town of Monterey, the film revolves around a young man trying to win the love of his father while competing with his twin brother whom their father favors. It is a film that is really an interpretation of the Cain and Abel story as it plays into two brothers vying for their father’s affection with one of them being this pacifist, strait-laced figure with a girlfriend and is a lot like his father. The other is an angst-ridden young man who feels like he could never please his father no matter how much work he can do and such. Paul Osborn’s screenplay is largely straightforward in how it plays into the journey that Cal Trask (James Dean) endures as he feels like he doesn’t do enough to please his father where he would often venture out Salina towards the neighboring Monterey where he follows a woman named Cathy Ames (Joy Van Fleet) whom he realizes is his mother that had abandoned his father just after he and his brother Aron (Richard Davalos) were born.

Their father Adam (Raymond Massey) is a man that is devoted to God in his beliefs, but he is also someone who has ideas with his crops as he is a farmer and a draft board chairman. He had an idea in keeping vegetables fresh as he has a lettuce crop as Cal helps along with Aron’s girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris) who is often concerned for Cal and his moody behavior. Yet, a weather storm crushes Adam’s dreams though Cal has an idea to go into the bean-growing business with one of his father’s partners knowing that stock will rise in case the U.S. decides to go to war as a way for Cal to get his father’s money back. Even as he turns to Cathy for help where he learns about why she left him as it makes Cal more determined to help his father where even Abra learns about what he is doing as she starts to fall for him. Yet, the script would reveal that Aron would find a way to upstage Cal in some way as it adds this sense of entitlement to someone who does everything his father does but is unable to cope with reality.

Elia Kazan’s direction is truly wondrous in his approach to imagery and the compositions that he creates that almost look and feel like a painting in some shots. Shot on location in coastal areas of Northern California in Salinas, Salinas Valley, and Mendocino County as they are important characters in the film such as shots of Cal riding on top of a train that would go from Salinas to Monterey. Kazan’s usage of the Cinemascope format allows him to go to great lengths to create shots such as a train riding away towards its destination as it plays into Adam Trask’s promise of a great future. While Kazan does use a lot of wide and medium shots to play into the locations including a fair where the bond between Cal and Abra becomes closer. There is also an intimacy in some of the medium shots but also in the close-ups along with a few slanted angles that play into Trask’s dominance towards his son with Aron often sitting either beside his father or in the middle of a table but closer to his father. Kazan also plays into the many differences between Cal and Aron as the latter is often seen in a clean-cut look with the former sometimes looking disheveled.

Kazan also plays into the events of World War I as Cal knew that there’s money to be made as he hopes he can use the money he makes to regain the money his father had lost. While Cal is aware about the horrors of war as there is this sense of optimism relating to the U.S. entering World War I. That optimism is destroyed when some of the young local men are killed with Trask’s longtime family friend Gustav Albrecht (Harold Gordon) is harassed because he’s German. The incidents relating to Albrecht make things for Trask uneasy with Aron also unable to cope with the realities of war as his pacifism becomes unwanted. The film’s third act relates to not just Cal’s desire to win over his father’s approval as he had kept the knowledge of his mother secret from both his father and Aron. It also plays into a young man who is often overshadowed by his brother whose selfishness is unveiled leading to a breakdown and some harsh truths for a family who have kept too many secrets from themselves. Overall, Kazan crafts a riveting yet intense film about two brothers vying for the affection of their father.

Cinematographer Ted D. McCord does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as it is filled with gorgeous colors for many of the film’s daytime exteriors with some stylish lighting for some interior scenes in the day and night including some soft-looking shots as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Owen Marks does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with some stylish transitional dissolves to help play into the drama . Art directors James Basevi and Malcolm C. Bert, along with set decorators George James Hopkins and William Wallace, do brilliant work with the look of the Trask family ranch as well as the home where Abra lives in as well as other locations within the town.

Costume designer Anna Hill Johnstone does fantastic work with the costumes from the refined look of Trask and Aron to a more rugged look that Cal has as well as the stylish clothing that Cathy wears. The sound work of Stanley Jones is terrific for its approach to sound in the way things sound from afar as well as some of the sparse moments in the film. The film’s music by Leonard Rosenman is amazing for its soaring orchestral score that plays into some of the film’s melodrama along with some moments of dramatic suspense as it is a highlight of the film.

The casting by Harvey Clermont is wonderful as it features some notable small roles and appearances from Lois Smith as a young waitress working for Cathy at her brothel, Timothy Carey as Cathy’s bouncer Joe, Lonny Chapman as a mechanic who showed Trask how a car works, Richard Garrick as Dr. Edwards who appears late in the film, and Barbara Baxley as a nurse late in the film who annoys both Cal and Abra. Harold Gordon is terrific as Trask’s friend Gustav Albrecht as a German salesman whom the Trask family is fond of as they try to protect him from the locals. Albert Dekker is superb as Will Hamilton as a businessman who teams with Trask in his refrigerating idea only for things to fall but still wants to help Trask out by teaming with Cal in growing beans as it would be profitable. Burl Ives is fantastic as the local sheriff Sam who knows about Cathy being in Monterey as he is also a close friend of Trask where he does what he can to help Cal with news about his mother.

Jo Van Fleet is excellent as Cathy Ames/Kate Trask as a brothel madam who wears gloves to cover her hands that are described as white as ivory as she is also the estranged mother of both Cal and Aron as she discovers the former searching for her where she agrees to help his father as well as make money into Cal’s bean business. Richard Davalos is brilliant as Aron Trask as Cal’s twin brother who is a lot like their father in terms of being strait-laced and not getting into trouble yet is also unable to cope with reality where he would neglect Abra and later use her to win his father’s approval and humiliate Cal. Raymond Massey is amazing as Adam Trask as a farmer/draft board chairman who is trying to be this idea of purity as well as being someone who prefer to see success through small things instead of bigger things despite some ideas that would prove to prosperous despite the realities he had to face.

Julie Harris is incredible as Abra Bacon as Aron’s girlfriend who is this beautiful soul that is always good to everyone while shares her own issues with her father with Cal which adds to their growing bond as her relationship with Aron starts to falter as she would fall for Cal and be sympathetic towards him. Finally, there’s James Dean in a tremendous performance as Cal Trask as a young man who is eager to win the approval of his father while is often tormented by his own flaws as well as having to compete with his brother. Even as he is always full of energy and is willing to work hard yet is often conflicted in wanting to win his father’s love but also hates him for favoring Aron whom he feels is always undermining him as it showcases Dean as this acting powerhouse that is filled with angst and determination to be loved and understood.

East of Eden is a spectacular film by Elia Kazan that features great performances from James Dean, Julie Harris, and Raymond Massey. Along with its supporting cast, gorgeous visuals, its exploration of sibling rivalry, and an evocative music score by Leonard Rosenman. It is a film that is not just this intense melodrama but also a film that displays a young man that is yearning to be accepted for who he is from those who are close to him. In the end, East of Eden is a phenomenal film from Elia Kazan.

Elia Kazan Films: (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) – (The Sea of Grass) – (Boomerang!) – (Gentleman’s Agreement) – (Pinky) – (Panic in the Streets) – A Streetcar Named Desire - (Viva Zapata!) – (Man on a Tightrope) – On the Waterfront - (Baby Doll) – (A Face in the Crowd) – (Wild River) – Splendor in the Grass - (America America) – (The Arrangement) – (The Visitors (1972 film)) – (The Last Tycoon)

© thevoid99 2024

The Tenant (1976 film)

 

Based on the novel by Roland Topor, The Tenant is the story of a man who rents an apartment in France unaware that its previous tenant had attempted suicide though he believes that something is strange is happening involving its neighbors and landlord. Directed and starring Roman Polanski and screenplay by Polanski and Gerard Bach, the film is the third film in a thematic trilogy set in apartments where it plays into a man dealing with his surroundings as well as people trying to get him to kill himself. Also starring Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet, Rufus, and Shelley Winters. The Tenant is a riveting and provocative film from Roman Polanski.

The film is the story of a man who rents an apartment as its previous tenant had attempted suicide where the man believes that it wasn’t a suicide as he deals with his elderly neighbors and landlord who make complaints about him while he is baffled by these little complaints. It’s a film that explores a man who just rented this apartment unaware about what happened to its previous tenant as he believed something isn’t right as he grows into paranoia. The film’s screenplay by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach is largely straightforward in its narrative yet it largely follows the life of its protagonist Treklovsky (Roman Polanski) who arrived in the apartment looking for a place to live as he sees that this apartment has a room opened though the apartment’s landlord Zy (Melvyn Douglas) is reluctant to take him but does under certain conditions. Still, Treklovsky often finds way to agitate other tenants including Zy though he doesn’t mean to while also refusing to sign the petition against a tenant because of the noises her child makes.

The script also has Treklovsky befriend Stella (Isabelle Adjani) who is a close friend of the previous tenant who had died as the two begin a relationship even though she never visits the apartment her friend was in. Treklovsky would learn that the tenant had indeed died from her injuries yet he would also notice little things in his apartment such as a tooth but also the fact that he switched cigarette brands from Gauloises to Marlboro. It adds to these little things that would play into Treklovsky’s psyche as he also believes he’s becoming his previous tenant due to the fact that he’s putting on finger polish and dressing up like a woman.

Polanski’s direction is definitely stylish for the way he uses the crane tracking shot as the opening shot has him going inside the center of the apartment building in Paris to showcase the rooms and other tenants as the building itself is a character in the film. Shot on location in Paris, Polanski does play into a city that is vibrant but also going through changes where the apartment building itself is filled with an eccentric group of people with much of the tenants being elderly including Zy and the concierge (Shelley Winters) running the place as they don’t want any trouble or chaos. Yet, Polanski maintains an intimacy through medium shots and close-ups to play into the dramatic tension as well as the paranoia that Treklovsky would go through. There are wide shots for some scenes in Paris including a scene at a park where Treklovsky is watching kids sailing their toy boats on a fountain where he would act strangely towards a child. Polanski also play into certain visual motifs where mirrors are all over his apartment as it would add to this sense of paranoia that Treklovsky would endure.

Polanski would also play into this world where the city is vibrant where Treklovsky would meet some of Stella’s friends though there is this air of isolation within him as the life outside of the apartment building where his co-workers and the people in his age group or younger are thriving. Still, Polanski would also play into this blur of reality in its third act as it relates to Egyptian imagery that Treklovsky would find in the apartment’s main bathroom as well as a postcard from a man who was in love with the previous tenant. The third act plays into Treklovsky’s paranoia as it relates what he watches as it relates to a couple of tenants whom many have been complaining about where Treklovsky becomes the target. The film’s ending is ambiguous into what Treklovsky experiences as it adds to this idea of reality and fiction as well as his own brief encounter with the previous tenant. Overall, Polanski crafts a mesmerizing and offbeat film about a man who finds himself troubled in a new apartment he bought as well as learning about its previous tenant.

Cinematographer Sven Nykvist does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on low-key lights for many of the nighttime interior/exterior scenes in the apartment as well as its emphasis on cold grey winters for the daytime exterior scenes as it is a highlight of the film. Editor Francoise Bonnot does brilliant work with the editing as it play into the suspense with some unique jump-cuts and other rhythmic cuts that help add to the sense of terror. Production designer Pierre Guffroy, with art directors Claude Moesching and Albert Rajau, does amazing work with the look of the apartment building in its interiors including Treklovsky’s apartment as well as the apartment home of Stella. Costume designer Jacques Schmidt does fantastic work with the costumes from the suits that Treklovsky wears along with some of the fashionable clothing that Stella wears.

Hair stylist Didier Lavergne and makeup artist Ludovic Paris do terrific work with the look of Stella with her hairstyle but also Treklovsky when he goes in drag and wear women’s clothing. Optical effects work by Jean Fouchet does nice work with some of the shots including a key shot late in the film as it play into the terror that Treklovsky would endure. Sound editor Michele Boehm does superb work with the sound as the way noise sounds from another room and such add to the dramatic suspense. The film’s music by Philippe Sarde is wonderful for its orchestral score that feature themes that play into its suspense with its orchestral flourishes as well as somber pieces that play into the drama.

The casting by Catherine Vernoux is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Albert Delby as a neighbor in the apartment, Eva Ionesco as the disabled daughter of a neighbor that Treklovsky helps out, Jacques Monod as a café owner who often gives Treklovsky hot chocolate instead of coffee and Marlboros instead of Gauloises, the trio of Josiane Balasko, Romain Bouteille, and Patrice Alexsandre as co-workers of Treklovsky, Bernard Fresson as a friend/co-worker of Treklovsky in Scope who gives him advice about dealing with the neighbors, and Rufus in a superb small role as a man who was in love with the previous tenant who laments over not expressing his love to her. Lila Kedrova is fantastic as Madame Gaderian as a woman who has a disabled daughter that is getting complaints as she despises her neighbors for being mean to her while she has her own idea of revenge.

Shelley Winters is excellent as the concierge who is a no-nonsense woman that helps run the apartment building though she doesn’t take a liking towards Treklovsky believing he’s causing a lot of trouble. Jo Van Fleet is brilliant in her brief yet effective role as a tenant in Madame Dioz who has created a petition to get rid of Madame Gaderian which Treklovsky refuses to do as she warns him about the trouble she and the others would bring to him. Melvyn Douglas is incredible as Monsieur Zy as the landlord who reluctantly takes Treklovsky in as a tenant while lecturing him about what to do as he brings a lot of ambiguity into his character. Isabelle Adjani is amazing as Stella as a friend of the previous tenant as she befriends Treklovsky that later becomes a romantic relationship as she is this young woman that is just trying to make sense of what happened. Finally, there’s Roman Polanski in a phenomenal performance as Treklovsky as this young man who rents this apartment as he deals with all of the chaos around him where he becomes paranoid and confused where Polanski brings that sense of humility in his physical performance but also some humor when he starts to camp it up in drag.

The Tenant is a sensational film from Roman Polanski that features great performances from Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, Melvyn Douglas, Jo Van Fleet, Rufus, Lila Kedrova, and Shelley Winters. Along with Sven Nykvist’s cinematography, its eerie visuals, chilling music soundtrack, and its exploration of isolation and paranoia in a claustrophobic setting. It is a film that explores a man dealing with his new surroundings while trying to figure out what happened to the previous tenant as he wonders is it really happening to him or is it in his head. In the end, The Tenant is a phenomenal film from Roman Polanski.

Roman Polanski Films: Knife in the Water - Repulsion - Cul-de-Sac - The Fearless Vampire Killers - Rosemary's Baby - Macbeth (1971 film) - (What?) – Chinatown - Tess (1979 film) - (Pirates) – Frantic - Bitter Moon - Death and the Maiden - The Ninth Gate - The Pianist - Oliver Twist (2005 film) - The Ghost Writer - Carnage (2011 film) - (Venus in Fur) – (Based on a True Story) – (An Officer and a Spy) – (The Palace)

© thevoid99 2022