The Grapes of Wrath (1940):
Synopsis – When the dust bowl pushes the Joad family out of
their Oklahoma farmland, they head out to Cali-for-ni-a where the jobs are
plentiful and Grandpa intends to roll around in some grapes. But guess what?
Things don’t work out that way. Things don’t work out at all.
I got to see this projected out at one of the Oxnard movie
theaters. I really appreciate getting to see any old movie like that. I can
only assume that the person who decided to add this movie to the programming
did so because the story seems once again poignant to our times. Well, more
like it has and continues to be relevant since its creation. I didn’t read this
book in school for some reason (not because I was slacking off, I swear), but
the message of the rich taking advantage of the poor and passing the blame over
and over; Yeah, no duh right? Pretty heavy stuff for a movie subject if you ask
me, the kind of thing I thought the censors of the time would have out a stop
to; but I noticed they only mentioned “reds” once in a throw away bit of
dialogue.
What I Liked:
-Jane Darwell, who plays Ma Joad, has a face that conveys
years of weariness and disappointment. Whether she is warning Tom against
becoming a “mean” man or pushing the family along the path to California, she
looks like she has seen some shit.
While watching the movie, I kept thinking “Jeez, this lady was hired just to be
upset.” You spend a lot of time looking at her face in close-ups, seeing every
line as she frowns or grimaces. She makes you feel sad and after a while I was
tired of looking at that mug. But then, completely unexpectedly, it all paid
off. In the scene wherein the transient camp that the Joads are staying at has
a dance, we see Tom ask his mother go out on the floor with him. What happens
is a transformation of that normally dour face into a brilliant smile, complete
with accompanying laughter. And you got me movie. I actually teared seeing her,
and everyone else, so happy, even if just for a moment. They deserved that
moment after all the hardship, and so did the movie. Bravo you bastards.
-I’m not very good at criticizing cinematography. I need to
take a class or something so I can tell why what I’m looking at makes me feel
how I do, and then translate that into coherent words. The cinematography in
this movie is really good. Boom.
-Casey was my favorite character. I wish I knew that dude in
real life.
What I Didn’t Like:
-Although the beginning of the movie starts off with a
steady pace, once the Joads get on the road to California the movie begins to
drag. Their truck seemed to be the main character throughout that section, and
that was a mistake because we know it’s a broke-ass looking jalopy the minute
we see it. Watching the car break down over and over just so we can have some
character moments was tedious.
-One of the most famous bits in this movie is when Tom
(played by Henry Fonda) monologues in a close-up saying things like “wherever
there’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there”; Out of context, that speech
has some power. In context to the movie, Tom doesn’t really seem to know what
he’s talking about. It’s almost as if he has decided to speak a poem aloud that
he had just though of. “Yeah. This’ll make me sound deep.” After he is done
with his speech, his mother says she doesn’t understand, to which he replies, “Me
neither, Ma, but – just somethin’ I been thinkin’ about.” Perhaps I was
supposed to be so entranced with Fonda’s face that I wouldn’t notice he was
just talking out of his ass?
What I Hated:
-Pappy. He’s actually Grandpa Joad, but he was playing
toothless old pappy. I could imitate this old coot with no effort, because he
was goofin it up hardcore for the camera (which I am known to do, sans camera).
Luckily he’s not in this for long.
Verdict:
The Grapes of Wrath is a slow burner. I am really
glad I sat through it because I found the second half to be very satisfying,
mostly because of the pacing and beats of the first half. I don’t know if I
would ever just pop a DVD of this in for a rewatch of my own accord, but if
some people were going to hang out and watch it, I would be down.
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