Review of East of Eden (1955) by Rob S — 23 Aug 2014

I probably shouldn't have watched this straight off the book, which is phenomenal. I know an adaptation should be evaluated on it's own and not as an adaptation. But Steinbeck's novel is an absolute masterpiece, taking its biblical inspiration and extracting from it complexity and humanity, questioning and deepening the story of Cain and Abel. Kazan's adaptation is smaller in scope, and this is out of necessity, but what is left is so devoid of context that the characters' motivations are trivialized and they come off as hysterical. Morally, we're brought back to the simplicity of the biblical allegory, the very simplicity that Steinbeck was questioning on the most fundamental level.

The film is trite and melodramatic, a complete step backward from the novel. James dean might be brilliant but surrounded as he is by overacting, that brilliance is only visible in retrospect.