I read Aeschylus's "Oresteia" in a college course about ancient Greek literature, but I only loosely remember it, so I can't compare Eugene O'Neill's "Mourning Becomes Electra" to it, much less Dudley Nichols's Academy Award-nominated movie adaptation. On its own, the movie really packs a punch, with the wealthy family discovering all sorts of dirty secrets.
One line in particular caught my attention. This version takes place right after the US Civil War. During a greeting at the train station, someone expresses hope that the United States will never again see the sort of oppression that we had under slavery. Unfortunately, the north won the war but the south won the narrative, resulting in a century of institutionalized racism.
But that's tangential. The movie's no masterpiece, but worth seeing just for the intensity of the performances. Seeing these adaptations of plays makes me want to catch stage productions of them (unlikely though that is, especially during the COVID pandemic). I recommend the movie.
One line in particular caught my attention. This version takes place right after the US Civil War. During a greeting at the train station, someone expresses hope that the United States will never again see the sort of oppression that we had under slavery. Unfortunately, the north won the war but the south won the narrative, resulting in a century of institutionalized racism.
But that's tangential. The movie's no masterpiece, but worth seeing just for the intensity of the performances. Seeing these adaptations of plays makes me want to catch stage productions of them (unlikely though that is, especially during the COVID pandemic). I recommend the movie.