Review of Suddenly Last Summer (2012) by Kimberly T — 21 Dec 2007

Classic Tennessee Williams.

This Tennessee Williams play translates beautifully onto the screen with powerful performances by Katherine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. It's a story of a mother's warped dominion over her son, Sebastian (who has died in horrific circmstances). Taylor plays Sebastian's cousin who was on vacation with Sebastian when he died - as a result of her (Taylor's) distress Sebastian's mother is hell bent on her having a lobotomy, however, the her real motive is only revealed toward the cliimax at the end of the play. This film has 'added value' because Gore Vidal and Williams wrote in extra material for this film version. It was also contentious because Sebastian was clearly homosexual and as a result of pressure from censors, Vidal and Williams had to adjust material to the point that we never really hear Sebastian's point of view in the flashbacks - he is given no 'voice' whatsoever. Tennessee Williams had a very domineering mother and his sister was also subjected to a lobotomy - so clearly this is semi-autobiographical. The leitmotif that pervades the film relates to the intellectual sophistication of man versus the primal nature of man and that God and/or Nature has the power to be both beautiful and horrific.