Review of Rebel Without a Cause (1955) by Harry W — 28 Feb 2016

Making lead actor James Dean into an unforgettable star, Rebel Without a Cause boasted too great a legacy to surpass.

Coming from the same year as Otto Preminger's The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), Rebel Without a Cause pushes the limits on the level of edge in standard entertainment. When I say that, I refer to the bleak reality of violence and disillusionment captured in its depiction of the youth of America in a film where nothing is whitewashed into the pretentious image of a nuclear family. Rebel Without a Cause gets in deep, exploring the backgrounds of its characters who follow a destructive path. From an era preceding the counterculture movement, one which would be brought to cinematic glory by actor Dennis Hopper who has a supporting role in Rebel Without a Cause, 1955 displays Nicholas Ray capturing an accurate depiction of where life in general was heading. The relevance of his story continues to this day, and the screenplay written by Stewart Sten and Irving Shulman respects its viewers enough not to condescend them with a whitewashed tale.

Much like The Man with the Golden Arm, Rebel Without a Cause opens in a setting of law enforcement. It shows the three main characters of the film crossing paths for the first time, immediately establishing what kinds of characters they are. It follows in a style which suggests it will be a conventional film that adheres to the style of generic dramatic material from its era. This proves to be a trick which plays with viewers' expectations as from there the story progressively goes on a route of rich intensity. The feature maintains powerful grit in capturing the sadistic lifestyle of America's angry youth while tying it into sentimentality about broken families. The former is the predominant focus of the film while the latter oscillates occasionally with the narrative to add strong characterization and background to the tale, as well as pushing the actors to have powerful moments of small-scale interaction. Rebel Without a Cause is a powerful character piece and fearless examination of society in general. The lack of connection Jim Stark shares with his nuclear parents presents an intelligent examination of the generation gap and a strong example of the real society not captured in the simplistic sitcoms and family films of the contemporary day.

Rebel Without a Cause is largely centred around three main characters, all different teenagers with troublesome home life who get caught up in the life of the gang around them. Being a story essentially about people that author S.E. Hinton would refer to as Greasers and Socs, Rebel Without a Cause examines the path of teenage crime and how violent it can escalate in the face of the wrong perpetrators. Three major perspectives are provided into the different way that it affects locals. However, as a result there is inconsistency in focus over the three main characters. Jim Stark gets the majority of the attention which makes sense since he is the character the title refers to, but despite its achievements there is still great potential which is surpassed in Rebel Without a Cause. John "Plato" Crawford's home life is oversimplified, but what's more of a bother is the fact that Judy is given a meandering role in the tale. The one major scene depicting her home life explains practically everything you need to know about the character and it's certainly an intelligent plot point, but in actuality Judy ends up getting little screen time where she does anything more than smile at James Dean or get confused by everything. There is a lot more that could have been said about the two supporting characters, and though they remain interesting nevertheless I just feel that there was more potential at heart. Still, since Rebel Without a Cause makes so many narrative achievements to compensate, it is hard to be frustrated about this.

The definitive style of clothing and vehicles prominent in the 50's provide a sense of nostalgia to viewers which makes it all an enjoyable experience of imagery. And though it is few and in-between, the momentary use of the Dutch tilt in the cinematography effectively captures the mood in a strong visual manner.

But of course, it is the cast that truly makes Rebel Without a Cause a sympathetic feature.

James Dean's iconic leading performance is worth nothing short of all its notorious acclaim. The actor has the handsome appeal of Paul Newman with the gritty edge of Marlon Brando, amalgamating signature traits of two of cinema's biggest screen legends. The film opens with him throwing his character's internal emotions at viewers and immediately capturing their sympathy before progressively developing more of a hard edge as the film goes on. The gentle development of Jim Stark as a character provides audiences with a powerful insight into the life of a disillusioned American teenager without oversimplifying or idolizing the character, instead exploring the reality of the boy. James Dean is able to oscillate between using a gentle spirit and a tenaciously serious nature, capturing his role from all ends and solidifying the true extent of his talents in a single role. His effort is nothing but iconic.

Sal Mineo's vulnerability makes him stand out as the most innocent character of the story. Amid all the crime and violence of Rebel Without a Cause, John "Plato" Crawford is the one character attempting to keep himself out of it even though he is trapped in a world where nobody is protected. Being forced to confront this, the character goes through internal conflict which Sal Mineo projects with a sense of fearful confusion about everything. Contrasting James Dean's change from a victim to a perpetrator, Sal Mineo consistently remains innocent throughout all his experiences, riddled with fear and uncertainty despite having strong ambition. Sal Mineo's performance is brilliant, and his legacy is clearly influential into films such as The Outsiders (1983) where Johnny Cade seems very much influenced by John "Plato" Crawford.

Natalie Wood is also great. Though she isn't given as much screen time as you might hope for an Academy Award nominated performance, Natalie Wood is a consistently likable and charming presence as Judy who shares some powerful chemistry with James Dean and her on-screen family where she brings the real stress of her character to life. It's also great to see a young Dennis Hopper in Rebel Without a Cause.

Rebel Without a Cause is a brilliantly real story with an edgy sense of realism about the conflict and violence facing youth in the real world with relevance that has continued for more than six decades since its original release, and the simplified characterization of its supporting characters are made up for by the brilliant performances of the cast, led by James Dean's unforgettable dramatic talents.