Review of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) by Jw V — 09 Feb 2014

Phenomenal adaptation with top-notch acting. Especially Marlon Brando excels a playing the hard to the bone, patriarchal Stanley, which he does with incredible sprezzatura. Vivien Leigh also convinces with her descent into madness. A movie charged with loads of emotion and a lot of sparks when Brando and Leigh clash. Blanche's character is handled with great skill, as we notice how, bit by bit, she loses a grip on reality.

The movie is also not unproblematic. It makes you think about who is to blame for the deplorable state Blanche is in at the end. In the beginning, you may sympathize with the cultured Blanche against a rude and 'primitive' Stanley, but their characters are masterfully complicated throughout the movie when Blanche's mysterious history begins to emerge.