A Hatful of Rain (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'A Hatful of Rain' (based on a stage play by Michael V. Gazzo & directed by the great Fred Zinnemann) is an exceedingly well acted melodrama about the devastating effects of drug addiction on one young man & how it reverberates through his loving family. The setting: a dingy housing project near the Brooklyn Bridge. Don Murray (Oscar-nommed for 1955's Bust Stop) plays Johnny Pope, a likeable, young, Korean War veteran who became secretly addicted to morphine in a military hospital. Johnny keeps his narcotics addiction a secret from his loving, pregnant wife Celia (Academy Award winner Eva Marie Saint), as well as his oafish, but doting father (a great Lloyd Nolan) who arrives in town to stay with them in their already cramped apartment.
At first, Celia is convinced that her husband's alienating, eccentric behavior (stays out all night, various bizarrities) is a result of him having an affair. Johnny's older brother Polo (Anthony Franciosa) is the only one who knows the actual truth, & Johnny takes advantage of it; constantly asking his more responsible sibling for $$ to support his habit. As the addiction gets worse, Johnny becomes heavily dependent on/victimized by a vicious drug pusher (Henry Silva). Unable to cope with the damaging secret life he's leading, in a dynamic climax, Johnny finally confesses to his fed-up wife & disappointed father that he is, in fact, a junkie. But ramifications abound. And the question remains if Johnny will be able to overcome his addiction, the drug pusher, or his own family in the end.
The film, shot in black-&-white, goes all-in for gritty realism & emotional intensity. 'A Hatful of Rain' presents a harrowing portrait of what it means for a dope addict, how much $$ it costs, & the emotional anguish that is felt by both the drug user and those around him/her. If there's one aspect of the film that prevents me from praising it to the heavens, it's that the film FEELS like it was made on a lower budget. It's not expansive; feeling more like a filmed stage play (in execution), rather than a motion picture. But really, other than that, I commend the film greatly. Best of all are the performances from the principal actors. Anthony Franciosa was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as conflicted Polo ... and rightly so.
Don Murray should have been nommed, as well -- but wasn't. I sat in awe of his drug-fueled histrionics; his reactions were visceral & devastating. Lloyd Nolan is superb as the father; a role he also played in the stage play. And Eva Marie Saint brings such believability to the pregnant, hormonal, sad, loving, forgiving role of Celia. She deserved a nomination, as well. The internal struggles of the characters are brought to the screen with real verisimilitude. The whole cast is fantastic. Ditto the direction & script. Back in 1957 (when this film was released), it was not normal to see a film address a social problem such as drug/morphine/heroin addiction. This film shows how addicts will literally do anything to get their next 'fix'. And the film even infers that the U.S. Army was the source of Johnny's (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). I wasn't expecting much from 'A Hatful of Rain', but I have to say that it really surprised me. Very good movie.
At first, Celia is convinced that her husband's alienating, eccentric behavior (stays out all night, various bizarrities) is a result of him having an affair. Johnny's older brother Polo (Anthony Franciosa) is the only one who knows the actual truth, & Johnny takes advantage of it; constantly asking his more responsible sibling for $$ to support his habit. As the addiction gets worse, Johnny becomes heavily dependent on/victimized by a vicious drug pusher (Henry Silva). Unable to cope with the damaging secret life he's leading, in a dynamic climax, Johnny finally confesses to his fed-up wife & disappointed father that he is, in fact, a junkie. But ramifications abound. And the question remains if Johnny will be able to overcome his addiction, the drug pusher, or his own family in the end.
The film, shot in black-&-white, goes all-in for gritty realism & emotional intensity. 'A Hatful of Rain' presents a harrowing portrait of what it means for a dope addict, how much $$ it costs, & the emotional anguish that is felt by both the drug user and those around him/her. If there's one aspect of the film that prevents me from praising it to the heavens, it's that the film FEELS like it was made on a lower budget. It's not expansive; feeling more like a filmed stage play (in execution), rather than a motion picture. But really, other than that, I commend the film greatly. Best of all are the performances from the principal actors. Anthony Franciosa was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as conflicted Polo ... and rightly so.
Don Murray should have been nommed, as well -- but wasn't. I sat in awe of his drug-fueled histrionics; his reactions were visceral & devastating. Lloyd Nolan is superb as the father; a role he also played in the stage play. And Eva Marie Saint brings such believability to the pregnant, hormonal, sad, loving, forgiving role of Celia. She deserved a nomination, as well. The internal struggles of the characters are brought to the screen with real verisimilitude. The whole cast is fantastic. Ditto the direction & script. Back in 1957 (when this film was released), it was not normal to see a film address a social problem such as drug/morphine/heroin addiction. This film shows how addicts will literally do anything to get their next 'fix'. And the film even infers that the U.S. Army was the source of Johnny's (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). I wasn't expecting much from 'A Hatful of Rain', but I have to say that it really surprised me. Very good movie.