In Frank Borzage's monumental -and absolutely extraordinary- filmography,"After tomorrow" is the follow up to "Young America" and with hindsight,it made sense.The 1931 work dealt with the wall between the kids and the adults;"After tomorrow" deals with the problems of a young couple whose mothers are either selfish (the girl) or over possessive (the boy).It's the generation gap all over again.
Sid's mother feels that that time is passing her by:the first time we've seen it,she yells "don't call me mother!" .She can't stand her daughter anymore,which is the living proof that she's getting old ;leaving her old husband the day her daughter marries does not make feel her ill-at-ease .This scene when papa refuses the dough is thoroughly Borzagesque.
Peter's momma is afraid of the dark,and she needs her dear one to sleep the sleep of the just.She's not really nasty but her soon-to-be daughter-in-law is an enemy .Her presence is almost a comic relief,in a story which verges on dramatic.
Marian Nixon and Charles Farell ,Borzage's favorite actor manage to stay very natural,which was not that easy in the years following the silent age.They are wonderful in the scene of the hat after the job interview.
One of Borzage's finest movies?Probably not,but even the "OK" movies of this great man are so much better than so many other directors' best.
Sid's mother feels that that time is passing her by:the first time we've seen it,she yells "don't call me mother!" .She can't stand her daughter anymore,which is the living proof that she's getting old ;leaving her old husband the day her daughter marries does not make feel her ill-at-ease .This scene when papa refuses the dough is thoroughly Borzagesque.
Peter's momma is afraid of the dark,and she needs her dear one to sleep the sleep of the just.She's not really nasty but her soon-to-be daughter-in-law is an enemy .Her presence is almost a comic relief,in a story which verges on dramatic.
Marian Nixon and Charles Farell ,Borzage's favorite actor manage to stay very natural,which was not that easy in the years following the silent age.They are wonderful in the scene of the hat after the job interview.
One of Borzage's finest movies?Probably not,but even the "OK" movies of this great man are so much better than so many other directors' best.