Review of The Glass Menagerie

This film was excellently cast; the actors played their roles very convincingly. Everything about it was going great: the setting, mood; great acting. The play itself was a real downer; a man (Edmund O'Brien) is still living with his mother and sister although he's in his mid twenties. His mother is domineering; she succeeded in driving away her husband, who joined the merchant marine and left her and their two little kids. Her grown son is now moody and weak; the result of being raised by a bossy, delusional woman. His sister (Jane Wyman) suffers from a condition that causes her to limp noticeably. She was obviously sheltered by her mother and now she's introverted, lacks self-esteem, and lives in a lonely fantasy world. Kirk Douglas plays the gentleman caller who ultimately rejects the daughter during their blind date and makes up a story about being engaged to blow her off as gently as possible. After the date doesn't work out, the mother takes it out on her son, who leaves them forever and, like his dad, joins the merchant marine. This is a very sad play on many levels. It deals with a woman who lost her mind after her husband deserted her. She and her kids live in a cramped apartment in the midst of a squalid slum. Her daughter has to deal with the unfortunate fact that people like her, who limp, face rejection and ridicule in life. Her mother coddled her and she has regressed into a shy, pathetic young woman. Her son , who no doubt bore the brunt of his mother's frustrations has grown into an aimless, bitter young man. When he tries to set his sister up with a popular guy he works with, it blows up in his face. The way this movie ended changed the meaning. The play did not offer conclusive hope for the daughter. There wasn't another gentleman caller. One could only hope that she would soon come out of her shell and that she gained some self-esteem from being lectured on her good attributes by Kirk Douglas's character.Maybe now that the son is out of the picture, the family dynamics will change for the better. Or maybe things will get much worse. It made you think, and there are possible positive and negative outcomes; it's up to you.