East of Eden

A truly difficult review. My favorite users give it five stars as if it were a hail of bullets, but I look at Elia Kazan's film with a skeptical shrug. The stars are not so much for the film itself, but rather for the outstanding literary source by John Steinbeck and the cult of James Dean. Granted, the theme is exceptionally strong, and at the time, this film certainly represented a highly exceptional achievement. However, with the passage of time, it is evident how burdened it is by the melodramatics, pathos, overacting, and the wailing of the strings of a grand orchestra - in short, East of Eden is a typical studio drama from the 1950s that has long been surpassed in the art of film. This is precisely the kind of film that the French New Wave, the Czechoslovak Wave, the American independent film of the 1970s, and so on, defined themselves against. James Dean overacts, not because he is a bad actor, but simply because he tries to meet the contemporary expectations of dramatic acting and the tormented soul of a young hero. I am torn between 3 and 4 stars, but this film has plenty of enthusiastic uncritical admirers, so I don't have to hesitate in giving it only an overall impression of 65% and 3 stars. (20.05.2012)

This is a movie where, for the first time, I truly thought that James Dean was a great actor and that he is missed. Actually, it's a film about how one dysfunctional family can look, and it's not just because one of the sons is a rebel. The finale is very emotional and impactful, but surprisingly, the film doesn't manage to surprise with its plot developments by today's standards. (15.11.2016)