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A Raisin in The Sun (1961)
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Controversial and Beautifully Written
This film based on a play is the story of three generations of an African-American family living together in a tiny two bedroom apartment in Chicago. The film deals with civil rights, the role of women of colour in modern society and the pride of many black people in a changing society.
Sidney Poitier stars as Walter, a married man living with his wife, son, sister and mother in this small space who is trying to make a name for himself despite the controlling women in his world. His mother is played magnificently by Claudia McNeil. She gets all the great speeches of the film, and she represents a generation that was happy not being slaves in a world where black people wanted to be more than 'free', they wanted to be 'equal'. Walter's wife, Ruth, is played by the lovely Ruby Dee. Ruth is coping with an unhappy marriage and an unwanted pregnancy and in her we deal with abortion rights and a woman who is struggling to keep everyone together. Finally, Diana Sands plays Walter's sister, Beneatha. She is studying to be a doctor and thus brings in the new idea that a black woman in America could be whatever she wanted, supposedly. She meets a man from Nigeria and becomes enthralled by wanting to be African and not an "assimilationist". In Beneatha, we see the roots of the African-American people and the quest to embrace that history without forgetting the reality that they have been Americans for several generations.
This is a complex emotional drama that takes place mainly in their one small apartment. It is filled with strong female characters that are constantly breaking away from the boundaries of cinema at that time. The script by Lorraine Hansberry, adapted from her play, is a remarkable feat that allows all sides to have their say without taking anyone's side. Walter is a strange and wonderful creation of a man, emasculated and grasping for control while completely in over his head. But this is a film owned by one woman and Claudia McNeil is a powerful image on that screen. You cannot take your eyes off of her and it is only right she is given the final image of the film.
A classic.
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