Based on the award-winning play from Lorraine Hansberry, this film version keeps the setting of the play fairly confined to the characters’ small apartment and allows an active camera and the sheer power of the performances to overcome its inherent staginess.
The story chronicles the lives of the Younger family as they await the arrival of the life insurance check owed them after the death of the family patriarch. Matriarch Lena (Claudia McNeil, SIMPLY HEAVENLY) is in charge of the money, which her son Walter Lee (Sidney Poitier, IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT) wants desperately so he can open up a liquor store. Walter Lee tries to convince his tired wife Ruth (Ruby Dee, DO THE RIGHT THING) to help him persuade his mother to give him the money, but she doesn’t want to get involved in that fight. Part of the money has already been promised to Walter Lee’s younger sister Beneatha (Diana Sands, TV’s DR. KILDARE), who is studying to be a doctor. Walter Lee desperately wants a chance to make something of himself, leaving his job as a chauffeur behind and giving his young son Travis (Stephen Perry, THE SOUND AND THE FURY) a reason to look up to him.
The four main characters all have their own ideas of what the money represents. For Walter Lee, it’s his quick ticket up in the world. For Beneatha, it’s her education, which is strongly part of her identity. In trying to find herself, Beneatha dates several men including the rich college grad George Murchison (Louis Gossett Jr., AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN) and African college student Joseph Asagai (Ivan Dixon, TV’s HOGAN’S HEROES), who gives her a chance to get in touch her African roots.
Both Lena’s children struggle against her more “conservative” view of life. The core struggle, however, is between Walter Lee and his family. Lena finds the idea of opening a liquor store as a result of the money they received for her husband’s death morally wrong while her son has less qualms as long as it gives him a chance to be upwardly mobile just like it seems everyone else around him is. In her quiet acceptance of how roughs things are, Ruth doesn’t have much fight left in her, however a small glimmer of hope comes along during the course of the story that makes her take joy in the future and want to stand up and fight. Ruth’s sad acceptance of the way things are often makes Walter Lee feel like she doesn’t support him or even understand him.
Veteran TV director Daniel Petrie supplements the outstanding performances with a nimble use of shot framing. Along with nice editing, the camera brings life to the material by making us unaware that 98% of the film takes place in a single room. One cannot single out a performance without neglecting the work of the rest of the cast. This is ensemble work as its best. With finely drawn characters and remarkable performances, A RAISIN IN THE SUN simmers with heart and poignancy that seems as relevant today as it did upon its original release. In its tale about the struggle everyone has in carving out their own part in this world, the crosses color boundaries and becomes universal.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
