A Place in the Sun

Starring: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere, Raymond Burr
Directed by: George Stevens
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama, Romance
1951

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A young man (Montgomery Clift) goes to work for his wealthy uncle, and falls in love with two different women, who will influence his life and future.


Review:

Tim: A Place in the Sun was a critical success in 1951, and won 6 Academy Awards. It's certainly a very well-respected movie. I found the film interesting, but I was pretty surprised by how well received this movie was. I thought the film was good, but by no means great. I'm actually a bit bewildered it was nominated for 9 Academy Awards. Let's explore this a bit further.

The story is definitely one that the Academy would eat up- a young, poor boy goes to work for his rich uncle. Along the way, he sees his station in life improve dramatically, but he makes certain decisions that could have irreparable, unbelievable consequences for his life. In many ways, A Place in the Sun is a cautionary tale, a morality tale. It features good actors, and it's no wonder so many people ate this movie up.

For me, though, I thought the film was a bit overrated. I had a very hard time connecting with any of the characters. Montgomery Clift is an actor who is hit-or-miss for me. I've seen him in films where I absolutely loved his performance (From Here to Eternity, for example). There's other films where I really struggled with his performance (I Confess, for example). The performance here really left me cold. I had a very hard time connecting with his character and getting into his head. I never identified with him, which prevented me from really feeling for him. He was a bit hard to root for, because he never gave me a reason to care for him. Clift is a pretty unemotional, stoic actor, and that wall he puts up sometimes prevents me from connecting with him. That happened here. I'm a bit surprised he was nominated for Best Actor.

I have to say that Elizabeth Taylor gave a good, but not especially memorable performance. I thought she worked fine in the film, but she did nothing that wowed me. She was serviceable, worked well with Clift, and was fairly entertaining. There was simply nothing of any true, lasting substance in her performance. She was too forgettable. Shelley Winters, on the other hand, gave a remarkable performance (it didn't surprise me to see Winters nominated for Best Actress, while Taylor was nominated for nothing). Winters really gave an emotional, unforgettable performance. She was cute, supportive, and wonderful. And yet, her character takes a stunning turn, and that is when Winters really shined. She made that transition seem believable, and teetered on the unstable. That aspect of the film was my favorite- watching Winters turn from a supporting, kind girl into an unstable, frustrating one. She was great.

The story was interesting, but there wasn't enough to really draw me in. Clift's character left me cold, and I thought the film was too long at 122 minutes. It was too drawn out. Director George Stevens did a good job, creating a solid, fairly entertaining film. I'm actually quite shocked he won the Academy Award for Best Director. He did a good job, but I really did not think he was great. The film too often strays into the overly melodramatic. I wish the film had showed a little more restraint and a little more nuance.

Movies are great because they can be polarizing, and we don't all have to agree. So many people really enjoyed A Place in the Sun- it won 6 Academy Awards (Best Director, Best Cinematography (B&W), Best Costume Design (B&W), Best Film Editing, Best Music, and Best Adapted Screenplay. While I agree it's a well-made film, I did not love this film. It's too long, too slow, and too melodramatic. I never cared about Clift or any of the other characters. This is a good movie, but it's a far cry from a great one. Consider me in the minority when it comes to A Place in the Sun.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: I Confess, From Here to Eternity