Review of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) by Elliott F — 26 Dec 2010

Note, I have not read Tennessee Williams' original play. I can only guess how great the source material is, and I'm sure it's a brilliant work of theatre. That said, there's much to be admired in this film adaptation from Elia Kazan, but it seems Kazan didn't quite adapt the film as well as he could have.

Kazan is certainly a scatter-shot director, with films ranging from absolute master-works (On the Waterfront) to clumsily mediocre (Gentleman's Agreement). Naturally, there are things that work brilliantly on stage that don't quite transfer to film well, and some of these things are present here.

The performances are great individually but flawed together--the four leads (Leigh, Brando, Hunter, and Malden) are all brilliant but they seem to be acting in different films. Leigh's melodramatic interpretation of the loose cannon Southern belle Blanche DuBois clashes terribly with Brando's revolutionary, naturalist performance of the boorish, sexually charged Stanley Kowalski.

There is a lot in this film to admire, but overall, it just seems like it could be so much better.