The Rose Tattoo (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Adapted from Tennessee Williams play & directed by Daniel Mann, 'The Rose Tattoo' stars Italian firecracker Anna Magnani as Serafina Delle Rose, a 40-ish yr. old seamstress who emigrated from Sicily to America's rural south. After the death of her husband, Rosario (in a truck accident), she mourns & mourns; turning herself into a recluse. Serafina is contrasted with Rosa (Marisa Pavan), her naive teen daughter, who is experiencing her 1st love. 15 yr. old Rosa fears she is not pretty enough to keep her young man interested (he's a blonde boy with the non-Italian name of Jake Hunter; Mama Serafina doesn't like this). Rosa should be surer of herself because Jake Hunter is wild about her; and though she's of a young age, she claims that she's ready for marriage & eventual motherhood.
But domineering mama Serafina forces her daughter to be as reclusive & repressed as she is, particularly upon realizing that her beloved, deceased husband was unfaithful to her. Refusing to believe that he cheated on her, the already-fragile Serafina becomes further demented by grief, & her jealousy turns into fiery possessiveness over young Rosa. However, when Serafina meets another Italian truck driver, Alvaro Mangiacavallo (Burt Lancaster), who has "the body of my husband," they spend a bit of time together: talking, drinking, arguing, laughing, & crying. Her tentative romance with Alvaro may not only free-up her repressed sexuality, but may also solve the troubling issues she's having with Rosa & Jake. Melodrama ensues.
This film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and even won a few; including a much-celebrated win for Best Actress. I love Anna Magnani, here. Word has it that Magnani was apprehensive about performing in her 1st Hollywood film because she spoke very little English. Well ... she acquits herself very well, here. Her English was very fine. And I loved the various moments when she got to launch into Italian. Overall, Magnani just gives a wonderfully impassioned performance. I felt her every emotion; whether it was love, anger, fear, betrayal, lust, compassion, sadness, or happiness.
Marisa Pavan is excellent as Rosa; an emotional young girl on the brink of womanhood. She looks like Magnani; and their mother-daughter relationship is very believable. Now, Burt Lancaster feels a little miscast, here. I wasn't completely sold on him being a transplanted Italian. And some of his clownish antics felt forced. Then again, his character was supposed to be a sort of loveable, simpleton goofball. And Jo Van Fleet, SO good as James Dean's mom in East of Eden & Susan Hayward's mom in I'll Cry Tomorrow, makes a splash as a woman of ill-repute who agitates the bereft Serafina.
I admire Daniel Mann's direction; trying to open up the proceedings from its stage bound, housebound roots. The adaptation by Tennessee Williams & Hal Kanter is stellar. The black-&-white cinematography is evocative; making use of great tropic locales (filmed in Key West, meant to be Mississippi/Louisiana). I just really enjoyed 'The Rose Tattoo'; a great little movie about infidelity, mortality, earning back some self-confidence, the notion of mid-life romance, & mother/daughter relationships. This motion picture packs all of that in & does so with interest, panache & catharsis.
But domineering mama Serafina forces her daughter to be as reclusive & repressed as she is, particularly upon realizing that her beloved, deceased husband was unfaithful to her. Refusing to believe that he cheated on her, the already-fragile Serafina becomes further demented by grief, & her jealousy turns into fiery possessiveness over young Rosa. However, when Serafina meets another Italian truck driver, Alvaro Mangiacavallo (Burt Lancaster), who has "the body of my husband," they spend a bit of time together: talking, drinking, arguing, laughing, & crying. Her tentative romance with Alvaro may not only free-up her repressed sexuality, but may also solve the troubling issues she's having with Rosa & Jake. Melodrama ensues.
This film was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and even won a few; including a much-celebrated win for Best Actress. I love Anna Magnani, here. Word has it that Magnani was apprehensive about performing in her 1st Hollywood film because she spoke very little English. Well ... she acquits herself very well, here. Her English was very fine. And I loved the various moments when she got to launch into Italian. Overall, Magnani just gives a wonderfully impassioned performance. I felt her every emotion; whether it was love, anger, fear, betrayal, lust, compassion, sadness, or happiness.
Marisa Pavan is excellent as Rosa; an emotional young girl on the brink of womanhood. She looks like Magnani; and their mother-daughter relationship is very believable. Now, Burt Lancaster feels a little miscast, here. I wasn't completely sold on him being a transplanted Italian. And some of his clownish antics felt forced. Then again, his character was supposed to be a sort of loveable, simpleton goofball. And Jo Van Fleet, SO good as James Dean's mom in East of Eden & Susan Hayward's mom in I'll Cry Tomorrow, makes a splash as a woman of ill-repute who agitates the bereft Serafina.
I admire Daniel Mann's direction; trying to open up the proceedings from its stage bound, housebound roots. The adaptation by Tennessee Williams & Hal Kanter is stellar. The black-&-white cinematography is evocative; making use of great tropic locales (filmed in Key West, meant to be Mississippi/Louisiana). I just really enjoyed 'The Rose Tattoo'; a great little movie about infidelity, mortality, earning back some self-confidence, the notion of mid-life romance, & mother/daughter relationships. This motion picture packs all of that in & does so with interest, panache & catharsis.