Romancefest 12: A Streetcar Named Desire

I read this play when I was 16 or 17, before I knew anything.

Now that I know some stuff, but not much, I've watched the movie.

Guess what? It's good.

Marlon Brando basically creates film acting in this film as the abusive clod Stanley Kowalski, a dude who has tricked a classy broad into marrying him only to have her sister come along and threaten to point out what trash he is. Luckily, she's crazy.

This is Blanche DuBois, as played by Vivien Leigh, who has been forced to move to New Orleans and stay with her sister, Stella (Kim Hunter) after losing the family plantation in the south.

Despite her squalid surroundings and the fact that she's living off of the reluctant charity of her sister and brother-in-law, Blanche attempts to continue conducting her life as a spoiled southern queen. Part of this is probably an attempt to cover up her own insecurities and deal bravely with the rough hand she's been dealt. Another part is probably denial and delusion.

Actually, most of the plot is made up of characters attempting to cover up their insecurities. Stanley abuses his wife and everyone else around him in an effort to assert his place as king of the castle, precisely because he's worried he might not be king of the castle. Stella devotes herself to Stanely because she secretly fears she hates him. And Blanche plays mind games with everyone around her because she's afraid her mind is playing games with her.

I'm not sure why the American Film Institute placed this film on their "100 Years, 100 Passions" list. Sure, the characters are passionate, but the subtitle of the list is, "America's Greatest Love Stories." Okay, STREETCAR is definitely about about relationships but I don't know if I'd call it a love story. It's more of a hate story. I can see where, like Tennessee Williams' other works, this story is driven by lust of a certain kind -- it's basically about that x-factor that makes abusive relationships attractive, and it does a good job of attempting to make the audience sympathetic to that mystery. But love? Naw.

Still, it's considered one of the greatest films ever made, and it's about time I watched it.