A Tree Grows In Brooklyn

Year: 1945

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Kazan

Review

kazan is batting .500 with me. on the water front and streetcar named desire left me unimpressed, but east of eden and this film really hit the spot. the lead (peggy ann garner) did a great job – she didn’t quite carry the film because there was a lot going for the film besides her performance, but without her performance the film would have been more unfulfilled potential than anything else. the rest of the cast was solid and the script was really good. there’s something about 40s writing that is lacking in so many of the films today. there’s a snap and wit to the writing that never happens in real life, but is so good when it’s on the screen. a film like “double indemnity” just isn’t made in this era. it’s the kind of story, too, that if made in today’s hollywood, would probably be botched. it would likely be ruined by one or more of the following current conventions: excessive emphasis on “eroticism,” pandering to middle-aged women (one thing that made this film great is that has a more universal appeal), or a general inability to show restraint in conveying the melodrama. even though the lead is the mother of the film, i think a lot of the film hinges on the daughter’s character. she is, in a lot of ways, the central character in the film and without her strength of character the film wouldn’t have been so solid. definitely worth watching if you can find it.