Review of Grapes of Wrath

Rating: 7/10 (18 October 2010)

Grapes of Wrath is a very real representation of what life was like during the Great Depression. There is an overall dark and depressing aspect to the film; families lost their land, homes, food, and great amounts of their wealth. Media tried to cover the reality of the situation by reporting deaths due to heart failure or stroke, instead of starvation, which was the reality. It was a trying time for many people, and Grapes of Wrath, shows what it was like for one family to lose their home to the Depression. All they want to do is go to California, but when they get to the land of "Milk and Honey" there isn't as much hope there as they had thought. The camera work for this film was overall good. There were beautiful shots of the environment and land surrounding them. Although the film is a realistic interpretation of a very historical period in American history, it seems to be quite dull. John Ford (Director of the film) may have tried to make too much happen in the film. The family can never catch a break and there's no profound change, making the story seem somewhat repetitive and hard to sit through, and really enjoy/get into.