Reel Look: 'The Grapes of Wrath'

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2015)

"We'll go on forever, Pa, 'cause we're the people." The Grapes of Wrath (1940), based off of John Steinbeck's epic novel, is, for me, director John Ford's most famous black and white epic drama that truly indicates the struggles to survive and the ultimate will to go on amidst a bleak and weary world. Do the Joads give up all hope or continue to pursue their dreams during the one of the most flavorless times in American history? Let's take a look.
The film itself has many great points that I would like to point out, and also not some very good ones at that. A great moment in the film is in the beginning when Tom (Henry Fonda) comes back home only to dins it darkened and dim, and how the lighting appears on his face, which shows almost all of the left side of his face black and white only a little sliver of light displays his right. To me this implied that even though the darkness had come, a little glimmer of hope still remained with him. The acting was great, but it was really Tom and Ma Joad (Jane Darwell) that captivated me by their amazing acting with their facial expressions and Southern accents.
Some weaknesses in the film were the bigotry towards the Joad family and anyone considered to be like them as well. People did not see other people as they should have during that certain point in time. Casey's death, I thought, was a weakness as well. I felt as they should have he should have fought back some more and for what he believed to be true. Tom's monologue near the end of the film was another strength because he believed in a better tomorrow and in the hope of his fellow people. Ma's closing statement as they drove onwards at the climax of the film (though I preferred the book's ending far better) was yet another great strength in telling the audience that her people will never be wiped out, as Ma states with confidence and pride in her last lines to Pa.
This film, being my second viewing, has opened my eyes to what true cinematic history was during that period of fighting to stay alive amidst a barren oasis. A mesmerizing yet tasteful view on what the Great Depression era was like really captured the essence of how it really was. This picture was a true portrayal of living, struggle and having a glimpse upon utmost freedom amidst an hour of flavorless desperation but also carrying with it the utmost refute to give in to despair with the will to just live.