#29, 3/24 – East of Eden (1955) (vod)
I haven’t read Steinbeck since high school and I’d never gotten around to East of Eden, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Of course, once I heard the names of the brothers, Caleb and Aron, I knew exactly what I was in for. (Given the title of the piece, the parallel names were hard to miss.) And I think I liked it more because, despite my knowing exactly where it would go, the trip was engaging.
The funny thing, to me, is after the movie was done I had a series of thoughts which went something like this. “Wow. This is just classic Hollywood filmmaking. I’m now much more in tune with how they were telling stories back then than I was, say, 10 years ago. I think I would have appreciated Splendor in the Grass much more if I’d seen it now, instead of in college.” Why did Splendor come to mind specifically? I dunno. But it’s only after I looked it up that I remembered it was directed the same man who helmed this film, Elia Kazan. I like when my brain makes associations which end up making more sense than I initially think they do. (It happens from time to time. Like my “gee, this reminds me a little of Rosemary’s Baby” moment)
And three cheers for Julie Harris. I think her character, Abra, is the most rewarding supporting character I’ve seen in a while, mostly down to her portrayal. I can only remember Harris from one other movie, my longtime favorite The Haunting, but it’s still fair to say I’ve loved her in everything I’ve seen her in.