Imitation of Life (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Throughout the 1950s, producer Ross Hunter & director Douglas Sirk collaborated on a series of female-driven melodramas (that could also be referred to as soap operas). Frowned upon at their times of release, some of them went on to become cult classics and/or seen in a completely different way from when they went under the microscope in the 50s. Probably the best of these melodramas was 1959's lush, beautifully adorned, & superbly acted 'Imitation of Life'. Made at Universal Studios, Douglas Sirk's version is a remake of a 1934 movie with the same title; based on Fannie Hurst's best-selling novel.
The film opens in the late 1940s with widowed Lora (Lana Turner) looking for acting work while caring for her Barbie-like 6 yr. old daughter Susie. During a trip to the beach at Coney Island with Susie, Lora runs into Annie Johnson (a SUPERB Juanita Moore). Annie is a black woman with a young light-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane. Annie offers Lora her services as a housekeeper/nanny in exchange for room & board in Lora's Brooklyn apartment. As Lora attains acting success over the next 10 or so years, Annie is somewhat saddled with the responsibility of raising both teenaged Susie & teenaged Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner), who, exposed to the privileges of the white world, becomes increasingly obsessed with trying to "pass" for white person in an era that persecutes blacks.
This all causes her poor mother a great deal of grief & heartache; as she wants her daughter to not be ashamed of her biraciality. Meanwhile, Susie (Sandra Dee), feeling neglected by her mother, seeks comfort in the strong arms of handsome - and much older - photographer, Steve (John Gavin). Problem there is ... he's already courting her mother. The dichotomy btwn. Susie's privileged existence & Sarah Jane's attempts to distance herself from her race and her mother forms the crux of the narrative. Melodrama ensues; including thrilling highs, devastating lows, runaways, arguments, beatings, scandal, deaths, crying, rejoicing ... you name it.
The cool thing about 'Imitation of Life' is that: even though the narrative is inherently soapy, with glitz, glamour, fashion, domestic issues, over-the-top emotions ... it also has a lot to say about gut-wrenching racism, 1950s materialism, complicated relationships with men, mother/daughter issues, and the price of ambition. About the price of ambition, there is a running motif throughout the film showing the discrepancy btwn. reality & keeping-up-appearances. i.e., director Sirk uses mirrors, shadows, staircases, and the like to show the racial and/or class differences among the characters.
A character like Lora proves to be a good-natured person. And yet, she has troubled relationships with nearly everyone around her. She loves Annie, but doesn't take the time to 'truly' know her. In one scene, she says to Annie, "I didn't know you had so many friends". Annie's reply, "You never asked". In another scene, the light-colored Sara Jane causes embarrassment for Lora when she bursts into a party & puts on a mammy-like accent to confuse her guests. And as for Susie, Lora believes she was a good, loving mother to her; but Susie is quick to point out that she was loving "through postcards, interviews, & magazines".
Now, to talk more in-depth about the racism. Sarah Jane grows into an indignant, tormented young woman who dates white boys (Troy Donohue, can ya get whiter?), runs away from her mother, performs in nightclubs, & hides her biraciality. Susan Kohner gives a dangerous sensuality to the role. And yet, she also has the ability to break our hearts. Lana Turner's platinum blonde hair, perfect make-up, elaborate jewelry, & colorful costumes (her outfits are more glamorous from one scene to the next) calls attention to themselves ... but that's kind of the point. She represents the polar opposite of Annie. And yet, Turner gives a very sympathetic portrayal. As mentioned, her Lora is fairly ignorant to many people she loves; but at heart, she's a good woman who changes for the better in the end.
Speaking of the end, there is a powerful scene in which Mahalia Jackson belts out "Trouble with the World". I was riveted, as well as what follows soon thereafter. See, this movie has it all: whites, blacks, "passing" (black people who want to 'pass' as white), melodrama, operatic singers ... I could go on. Through the conventions of a soap opera model, Douglas Sirk brings to life this vibrant rags-to-riches tale that is infused with racial tensions & broken family bonds. And I find it fascinating that his brand of glossy 1950s melodrama has even inspired directors today - today, an age of gritty realism.
The film opens in the late 1940s with widowed Lora (Lana Turner) looking for acting work while caring for her Barbie-like 6 yr. old daughter Susie. During a trip to the beach at Coney Island with Susie, Lora runs into Annie Johnson (a SUPERB Juanita Moore). Annie is a black woman with a young light-skinned daughter, Sarah Jane. Annie offers Lora her services as a housekeeper/nanny in exchange for room & board in Lora's Brooklyn apartment. As Lora attains acting success over the next 10 or so years, Annie is somewhat saddled with the responsibility of raising both teenaged Susie & teenaged Sarah Jane (Susan Kohner), who, exposed to the privileges of the white world, becomes increasingly obsessed with trying to "pass" for white person in an era that persecutes blacks.
This all causes her poor mother a great deal of grief & heartache; as she wants her daughter to not be ashamed of her biraciality. Meanwhile, Susie (Sandra Dee), feeling neglected by her mother, seeks comfort in the strong arms of handsome - and much older - photographer, Steve (John Gavin). Problem there is ... he's already courting her mother. The dichotomy btwn. Susie's privileged existence & Sarah Jane's attempts to distance herself from her race and her mother forms the crux of the narrative. Melodrama ensues; including thrilling highs, devastating lows, runaways, arguments, beatings, scandal, deaths, crying, rejoicing ... you name it.
The cool thing about 'Imitation of Life' is that: even though the narrative is inherently soapy, with glitz, glamour, fashion, domestic issues, over-the-top emotions ... it also has a lot to say about gut-wrenching racism, 1950s materialism, complicated relationships with men, mother/daughter issues, and the price of ambition. About the price of ambition, there is a running motif throughout the film showing the discrepancy btwn. reality & keeping-up-appearances. i.e., director Sirk uses mirrors, shadows, staircases, and the like to show the racial and/or class differences among the characters.
A character like Lora proves to be a good-natured person. And yet, she has troubled relationships with nearly everyone around her. She loves Annie, but doesn't take the time to 'truly' know her. In one scene, she says to Annie, "I didn't know you had so many friends". Annie's reply, "You never asked". In another scene, the light-colored Sara Jane causes embarrassment for Lora when she bursts into a party & puts on a mammy-like accent to confuse her guests. And as for Susie, Lora believes she was a good, loving mother to her; but Susie is quick to point out that she was loving "through postcards, interviews, & magazines".
Now, to talk more in-depth about the racism. Sarah Jane grows into an indignant, tormented young woman who dates white boys (Troy Donohue, can ya get whiter?), runs away from her mother, performs in nightclubs, & hides her biraciality. Susan Kohner gives a dangerous sensuality to the role. And yet, she also has the ability to break our hearts. Lana Turner's platinum blonde hair, perfect make-up, elaborate jewelry, & colorful costumes (her outfits are more glamorous from one scene to the next) calls attention to themselves ... but that's kind of the point. She represents the polar opposite of Annie. And yet, Turner gives a very sympathetic portrayal. As mentioned, her Lora is fairly ignorant to many people she loves; but at heart, she's a good woman who changes for the better in the end.
Speaking of the end, there is a powerful scene in which Mahalia Jackson belts out "Trouble with the World". I was riveted, as well as what follows soon thereafter. See, this movie has it all: whites, blacks, "passing" (black people who want to 'pass' as white), melodrama, operatic singers ... I could go on. Through the conventions of a soap opera model, Douglas Sirk brings to life this vibrant rags-to-riches tale that is infused with racial tensions & broken family bonds. And I find it fascinating that his brand of glossy 1950s melodrama has even inspired directors today - today, an age of gritty realism.