A Raisin in the Sun
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Movie Reviews of A Raisin in the Sun
Movie Review: African-American Actresses Shine
Summary: 4 Stars
This new production of the classic play is amazing for the treasure it presents: three of the finest performances one could ever see. Phylicia Rashad's Mama captures the essence of this stoic woman; Sanaa Lathan's Beneatha is sassy and bold; Audra McDonald once again proves that she is one of the finest performers working today. This film, an adaptation of the Broadway production, is well worth watching. Sean Combs, unfortunately, doesn't have the acting chops to carry the film as Sydney Poitier and Danny Glover do in earlier versions. But the saving grace is that Combs's Walter Lee is passable. With the strength of the female performances, this is definitely a production that satisfies.Movie Review: great for the classroom
Summary: 4 Stars
After reading the play aloud with my 10th graders, they watched this film and seemed to really enjoy it. If you're also a teacher, just make sure to show this AFTER your final assessment, as there are several "Hollywood" changes that are different from the original text. If you're not a teacher, I recommend this film as well; it is a moving timepiece.Movie Review: P-Diddy in A Raisin in the Sun
Summary: 4 Stars
I thought this was a nice adaptation of the classic and important play. It has good acting, nice scenes, and great emotions.Movie Review: Not as good as the original!
Summary: 4 Stars
It was pretty good but P Diddy was not nearly as good as Sidney Poitier!Movie Review: Don't Believe the Hype
Summary: 3 Stars
This recent ABC production was erratic; I'd like to see if the DVD restores several of the key passages that were cut out, including the memorable speech Beneatha gives to Asagai about what inspired her to become a doctor--in fact, the vital heart-to-heart Act III conversation between these two, which ought to run about 10 minutes, gets boiled down to 5 minutes! (Compare this sequence with the one featured in the superb AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE dvd, in which Beneatha and Asagai have a heated debate about the power of one person to make a difference and the future of Africa, and you'll see that a great deal of social conscience, and relevance to our own post 9/11 world, was sacrificed).
Repeatedly, the edits that were made in what I saw in the broadcast were puzzling. The decision to have Mama visit her drunk son at The Green Hat is dubious; in the play, Hansberry characterizes Lena Younger as a Christian woman who despises liquor and the nightlife of the Southside. The decision to show the whole family visiting the dream house in Clybourne Park is a cop-out--in the play, Lena is the only one to have seen the property, which makes Walter's anger and feeling that his dream has been "butchered" palpable. The Murchison-Beneatha relationship gets short-changed as well--where's the tense 2nd date scene, in which she spurns his crude advances and sees him as a churlish, shallow fool? I also disagree with the producer's decision to have Travis remain in the room for many scenes--what made the original play great was the fact that Travis never gets to see his parents bicker, which is why he idolizes his father, who seems can do no wrong. Thus, some dramatic irony gets lost.
Then, there is the truly odd decision NOT to have Beneatha adopt a full Afro (did the producers fail to see why Hansberry chose this simple yet powerful symbol in her original production???)--this abridgement was inexcusable. Consequently, the ABC production makes Beneatha look like an "assimilationist", despite her protests. What an absolute blow to the characterization of Beneatha, especially given how talented the actress here is.
The lead actors, with one notable exception, were quite good-- I was impressed with how Ruth and Asagai were developed, and I think Bill Nunn was superb in a minor and pivotal role as the naive Bobo. It's a shame this production doesn't include the comical nosey neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, who refers matter-of-factly to a newspaper story about the violence African-Americans face for moving into the suburbs. Indeed, the imminent threat the Youngers face for making such a bold move is watered down in this ABC production.
Lastly, anyone familiar with Hansberry's play should see that Sean P-Diddy Combs really drops the ball in the crucial "Pride" speech--he looks and sounds anemic compared to the riveting performances previously given by Poitier and Glover. The catharsis of his reversal, his rejection of Lindner's buy-out, just wasn't there.
(As a side note, the broadcast ran for three hours, and yet the actual film was just a little over 2 hours--couldn't ABC done the right thing and avoided such a crude abridgement of the dialogue, especially in Act III, and the jarring commercial breaks?)
Would I show this production to my high school students? Yes, but only in bits and pieces given the fact that the production deviates significantly from the original play. Students I've spoken to have expressed mixed reviews about this latest rpoduction.
Teachers, do the right thing and go with the AMERICAN PLAYHOUSE production instead, which is theatre at its finest and true to the spirit and intent of Hansberry's play.