The Grapes of Wrath Reviews

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Quite a movie real life as can be. My Mom and dad and grandma’s and grandpa’s came through the Dust Bowls Days to California from Oklahoma and Arkansas. They were treated like dirt and lived in tents etc. I recall in the early 50’s following the fruit as an emigrant. We all were born in the USofA. We lived in chicken pins instead of labor camps, and tents on occasions. The poor white folks ran off their lands by the wealthy in the 30’s same as in the 1780’s slave days. When slaves were brought in the poorest white folks by the thousands were driven homeless and many died from starvation. Not blaming the slaves but the rich who replaced the poor white folk with slaves. All of life has its down falls. Only the rich and intelligent and very aggressive people survive well. This movie is a must see!

The Grapes of Wrath is an almost-perfect adaptation one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell head a cast that firmly roots the movie in a realistic depiction of the tribulations and hardships experienced by Okies traveling to California. Their acting is not a series of scenes in which they get to loudly expose their acting muscles; it is a series of scenes in which they make you believe that they are real people.

Time was also a factor in the success of this adaptation. The novel was written only a year earlier, and the Great Depression was only slowly starting to come around. This was a fresh story line that had played out in people’s backyards, in their newspapers and newsreels. This was real life. The movie even plays as something akin to a documentary. Often times approaching near observational/docu-drama cinema in the ways in which characters often forgo makeup and soft lighting in order to look authentically dirty and road weary.

The cinematography approaches something so close to reality that is still an astounding accomplishment (how it lost that year's Oscar is a great question and that it wasn't even nominated is a joke). Characters are often seen in what is referred to as ‘natural lighting,’ meaning that the light that illuminates them is often from a lowly candle, the outdoor sunlight or a fire. The use of shadows is just as effective as the use of daylight. The stark, barren wasteland of Middle America is a disturbing sight to behold. How anyone managed to survive in that environment is beyond my comprehension. Even more unnerving are the numerous scenes of life on the road in the middle of the night or in a makeshift camp or in a home with no electricity. The rustling of a bush could mean so much if you can’t make out where the bush even is. You are there with the Joads throughout this entire ordeal. And it is an ordeal.

And the Joads – truly one of the fullest realized families in all of literature, even the minor characters like grandpa and grandma speak so much with so few scenes. They come from a time and an area when as man’s life, work and worth were determined by his land. They would rather die than see something happen to it. It’s all right there. And the actors speak those unsaid volumes with great acting economy. Henry Fonda gets all the praise for his performance, and it is indeed a splendid performance, perhaps his greatest (along with On Golden Pond and The Wrong Man). Fonda had the tremendous ability to always ‘be’ as an actor. You never saw him trying to become these people, he always ‘was.’ But the performance that struck me the most was Jane Darwell as Ma Joad. Specifically the scene where she sits examining odds-and-ends before they must leave their house and start the long journey to California, she pulls out a pair of earrings, holds them up to her ears and examines herself in the mirror. What she does with her face is an emotional sucker-punch with just the slightest fluctuations in her eyes.

But we now must discuss those final twenty minutes which left me confused and a little dumbstruck. Up until that point the film had followed the spirit and letter of the novel to a surprising degree. Then we come to a point in which Fonda must deliver a rousing speech that doesn't feel natural. What he speaks about is uplifting, but it comes across as a Cliff’s Notes abbreviation to what is unsaid about his character in the book. What Steinbeck accomplished through action, the filmmakers accomplish through a speech that screams Inspirational Dialogue 101. And Darwell is forced to wrap up the film in a similar fashion. The ending of the novel – a confounding, bruising, moving thing – is drastically changed to have her explicitly state what is obvious to anyone who has read the book or been paying attention during the film.

Surely, these are downgrades from the source material. Yet this ending doesn't diminish or destroy any of the good-will and artistry that the preceding experience has given us. It is an inelegant and abbreviated ending yet other than this brief but concluding detour The Grapes of Wrath is the American classic that it has been hyped to be.

"If there was a law, they was workin' with maybe we could take it, but it ain't the law. They're workin' away our spirits, tryin' to make us cringe and crawl, takin' away our decency."

Based on the novel by John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath is a classic film that takes an honest and uncompromising look at life during the period of the Great Depression. This is an important film as it captures the humanity of the period with poor families drifting from town to town in search of a job to hold down in order to feed their family.

But transferring Steinbeck's successful novel to the screen was no easy task. In the years preceding the film finally being made, the novel had been the subject of much debate and concern. As it takes a political siding, the government were infuriated as were farm interest and banks. When the proposed film adaptation got off the ground, there was a call to boycott all films reeled out of Fox studios. The film company took great measures to assure the public that the film wasn't taking any sides; however the result blatantly sides with the poor farmers who suffer through the greed of corporate business. In a sense, the determination that is displayed in the film also represents the determination to get the film made! After the film's eventual release, Steinbeck himself proclaimed his admiration of Ford's adaptation of his novel, saying that it had "a hard, truthful ring. No punches are pulled. In fact, it is a harsher thing than the book by far."

The Grapes of Wrath is a film concerned with the Joad family from Oklahoma. A combination of callous droughts and unsympathetic bankers result in sharecroppers being compulsorily forced to abandon their homes and their land that has been their property for generations.

The film opens as young Tom Joad (Fonda) returns home after a 4-year stint in the penitentiary. He expects to come home to find his loving family welcoming him home with open arms. Instead he discovers the impact of the harsh conditions that his family are suffering through. After Tom reunites with his family and is informed of the present situation, they are soon faced with no prospect of government aid and the serious likelihood of starvation. They answer the call of quickly-circulated handbills claiming the necessity for 800 pickers in California. Similar to thousands of other despondent individuals, they pack up the family and head in the direction of California. This journey is an emotional burden on the family who begin losing people to sickness or natural causes. But worse has yet to come. After the family reach the "Golden State" with the intention of settling down, a jarring reality dawns on them: too many migrant farmers with an adequate amount jobs being offered.

The film is then the story of the family overcoming the appalling conditions they are being succumbed to. This includes terrible treatment in camps and even in housing meant for the workers to live in. An interesting fact: the studio approached this adaptation after sending private detectives to investigate the conditions in camps to ensure Steinbeck hadn't exaggerated the situation. As it turns out, conditions were worse than described in the novel.

The Grapes of Wrath is truly uncompromising and brutal. This is not the usual Hollywood fare of happiness, but tragedy that besets the family from the outset. Do not expect a happy, satisfying conclusion as the film never even tries to hint that one is being built up to. It's not like the filmmakers could portray so many more problems the family encounter for the rest of their lives. On that note, some titles to wrap up the film's story could have heightened the film value. Even though the film may be depressing for some, the film is also uplifting as it takes an absorbing look and the spirit, compassion and determination of humankind.

Henry Fonda's performance is another aspect of the movie that highlights the human spirit in terrible situations. Fonda embodies the common man who is just trying to do what's best for his family. Towards the film's conclusion his performance should have you close to tears. Through the course of the story, Tom cultivates an interest outside himself: an inclination to stand up to the giants of oppression and fight for the rights of the little man. He becomes, in other words, a hero in every sense of the word.

My only complaint of The Grapes of Wrath is its failure to maintain my interest during its lengthy running time. At the end of the day it took so long to say so little. It outstays its welcome, and has too many burdens on the film's central plot. When the family moved to another location I was thinking "Oh no, here we go. They'll be leaving this place heartbroken in no time". It's an outstanding movie of course and an important one at that, but a shorter running time could have benefitted it.

Overall, The Grapes of Wrath is a very important piece of cinema history. With its genuinely absorbing look at life during the Great Depression and some great underlying themes, this is indeed a splendid achievement. The results convey a realistic atmosphere, and it delivers a strong political message while also being a warm human drama. The film is inspiring and touching; a story of family togetherness, family separation, and the requirement for unity among all people.

8.1/10