Relentlessly depressing, "Look Back in Anger" offers Richard Burton somewhat miscast as a twenty five year old university graduate who spends virtually all of his time railing against his wife, his surroundings and his place as a member of Britain's working class of the 1950's. It would be a misnomer to classify this picture as entertainment; it's harsh and dreary, and except for Mom Tanner (Edith Evans), there aren't any genuinely likable characters here. One could make a case for Alison Porter (Mary Ure), lovely to look at most of the time, but completely subjugated to the tyrannical rants of her husband. The shocker of course was how easily Helena (Claire Bloom) replaced her in the squalid scheme of things, and one never gets a sense of what attracts her to the lout that she had no use for in the first place. It seemed like a plot device to make us hate Jimmy (Burton) even more, as if he wasn't doing a pretty good job of having us hate him all by himself.
Review of Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger
(1959)
"Something's gone wrong somewhere, hasn't it?"
15 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers