Review of The Fugitive Kind (1960) by Vicky K — 24 Dec 2017

Knowing the text of Orpheus Descending and the intentions put down on paper by T. Williams for his characters, Marlon Brando's Val "Snakeskin" Xavier seems to come closest to the original writing.

Regardless whether this is due to Brando's privilege (and equally curse) of adapting his scripts or to the script itself, his impenetrable presence does justice to the lost and disgusted 30 year old who can't admit to himself he's a little bit too cynical to shed his skin in the South.

Lady and Carol are both fascinating characters in their own right, but their complexity seems to come out only accidentally in the script. Nevertheless, the story is an incisive gradual spiralling into that which each character fears the most, amped up by a claustrophobic and at times grotesque social environment.

Boris Kaufman's cinematography and Lumet's "flat" style of directing construct the perfect terrain for the characters to clutch the viewer. Even if this does not happen constantly, some scenes are jewels: the opening scene of Snakeskin's court showing (both repentant and unconvinced he's going to pull it off), the late night conversation between Lady and Val (Anna Magnani, toned down, steals the spotlight), Carol's "juking" rambling with a bored, but amused Val looking on (Joanne Woodward acts the excited expectation of a romantic encounter, while drunk, to the point of making you feel she's going to fall off the chair).