Review of East of Eden (1955) by Mloy X — 29 Dec 2009

East of Eden (1955) is one of the inevitable classics about interhuman relationships and their inherent frictions no film lover can keep avoiding forever. And I must say, it was no disappointment at all.

The naturalist feel comes to the fore from the very beginning: one can just sense something will go terribly wrong in the end, and that this will be inevitable â?? you feel it coming without realizing the end with the well-known biblical reference to Cain and Abel.

The opening scene is very powerful, with Cal (James Dean) hanging about being miserable, trying to find out something essential to his past (and thus to the story). The laughing black woman across the road only adds to the visual strength of the scene.

There are many more such powerful images in the movie, like the blocks of ice tumbling down, the eccentric appearance of the old lady (who almost looks like a witch at times), Aron (Richard Davalos) crashing his head through the train window, and the father staring at the ceiling in a half-lit room after heâ??s had his stroke.

These images are the movieâ??s strongpoint: they involve the viewer in what goes on in an otherwise simple story. They just make us care. The images are further embellished by some nice local colour elements, like the agricultural activities, the local fair and Kateâ??s establishment.

This movie just works. In short, Elia Kazan has done credit to Steinbeckâ??s famous novel.