Imitation of Life

I Agree with the poster before me, every time this comes on , I first decide if I will be able to see it without breaking down ( which I cant but I tell myself I can )Then try to concentrate on how beautiful Lana's outfits are ,,, but at the end when Annie dies,I just usually completely lose it ,,,

My real life nanny in the 60's was a Juanita Moore lookalike , coincidently also named "Annie". We watched this movie together and after she died in 1970 , watching this movie, really brings "my Annie's " death back .It is so real.

Lana's outfits are spectacular , the entire movie is outstanding.

The conflict between mothers and daughters has long been a Hollywood plot device. Sometimes it is done badly ("Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood"), sometimes it can be campy (the immortal shriek fest "Mommie Dearest") and sometimes a film does it really well ("Mildred Pierce"). "Imitation of Life", Douglas Sirk's 1959 film starring Lana Turner and Juanita Moore, squarely fits into that last category.

Lora Meredith (Turner) is a young widow, a single parent and struggling actress. One day when she loses her young daughter Susie at the beach, and with the help of a photographer she encounters, Steve Archer (Gavin) she finds her with Annie Johnson (Moore), an African-American woman, and her own young daughter Sarah Jane. After Lora and Annie talk for a bit, we find that Lora is having a hard time juggling her career with having a young child, and that Annie and her daughter are newly arrived in town and do not have a place to stay, so after Annie asks to work for Lora in exchange for room and board, they strike up a close friendship, as do their daughters. The film spans about ten years, and during those ten years Lora becomes a very successful Broadway actress, and Susie is sent away to an exclusive boarding school. Meanwhile, Annie is still her loyal right-hand, having decided to continue working for Lora, even though she has been putting the money that she has earned away. Sarah Jane, however, a very light-skinned girl who is able to pass as white, cannot get past her hatred of her own race, and her embarrassment of her mother's color and position. She is continually scheming and running away in order to rid herself of her true heritage, which ends up literally breaking her mother's heart.

"Imitation of Life" is outwardly a very pretty film with gorgeous coloring, beautiful actors and costumes to die for. When this veneer is peeled back, however, the true nature of the film is revealed, and its conflicts are painfully apparent. Lora and Steve are clearly meant to be together, but her career repeatedly gets in the way until Steve is no longer able to sit by idly, waiting for her while realizing that he is always going to be low on her priority list. While Sarah Jane envies Lora and Susie's looks, money and ultimately, color, it quickly becomes clear that their problems are substantial. While they had a close relationship when Susie was six, with the advent of Lora's career, the love Lora had for Susie did not diminish, but her attention and time for her did. When Susie returns home from a break at school, it is in her mother's absence that she latches on to Steve, (newly reunited with the family after ten years) and ultimately falls in love with him. In regard to Annie and Sarah Jane, there is nothing that the kind-hearted, completely selfless Annie can do to appease her daughter, a realization that is so hurtful that it makes her physically sick.

The great Douglas Sirk weaves all of these conflicts masterfully. Sirk, often marginalized as a "fluff piece" director due to the strong melodramatic content of his films, is at his very best with this film. "Imitation of Life" does not stray from his other films in terms of formula: We have a conflict that is socially relevant and somewhat inflammatory, beautiful actors and actresses playing the part, rich, lush colors throughout the entire production and loads of expensive jewelry and costumes. While there are Douglas Sirk movies that I really like for their camp value ("Magnificent Obsession" immediately comes to mind), "Imitation of Life" is so much more. Just when you're about to laugh at a line or a gesture that seems really over the top, Sirk beats you to it. The best example of this is when Lora and Susie are having a fight over the fact that Susie has fallen in love with Steve, after Lora announces their intention to marry. When Lora looks directly at the camera, puts a stoic look on her face and says in her best Joan Crawford imitation, "Then I'll give him up", Susie immediately says grimly, "Oh mother, don't act for me." The performances by the actors are all good, particularly the Oscar-nominated performances of Moore and Kohner. Here's a warning about the film, however – chances are, you'll get upset. My boyfriend, who will probably kill me after he reads this, very rarely cries at films. I've personally seen him cry once at a movie, and that was at "Return of the King", where everyone in the theater was honking. He had the waterworks big time at the end of this movie, much to my surprise. (And yes, personally I was a big mess; I had to blow my nose about three times.) "Imitation of Life" has both beauty and substance. It is a multi-layered film wrapped up in an exquisite little package, which is often cast away as fluff, but is really so much more. Watch it and judge for yourself, but this judge gives it a solid 8/10.

--Shelly

In this second and best filmization of Fannie Hurst's classic tear-jerker, a woman(Lana Turner) aspires to an acting career and neglects her emotionally troubled daughter(Sandra Dee). I'm not a person who expresses my inner feelings very much, but this movie was a very emotional experience for me, especially the subplot involving racial conflicts. If you're in the mood for a good cry, this film really delivers. The cast is absolutely wonderful. Next to PEYTON PLACE, this is Turner's best film, and Sandra Dee, known mostly for lighter fare like GIDGET and the TAMMY movies, does some of her strongest work here. For moving, high-powered drama, it just doesn't get any better than this. A must!

The reason this version of Imitation of Life is more popular than the 1934 version is because it really tries to address the racial issues of the day. The original is true to life in that a white woman takes advantage of her black maid's pancake recipe and is able to make it into a successful business. But the black woman refusing to share in the profits was unrealistic in my opinion. There's a difference between being humble and being stupid. In any event, Sirk's version is lavish and soapy, but with all of these elements that ring true to this day. Lora IS ambitious, so much so that she gives up the man she loves to pursue her dream of becoming a successful actress. A huge part of her success she owes to Annie, who she saves from homelessness, along with her daughter Sarah Jane. Annie is not only Lora's maid, she becomes a substitute mom (mammy) for Lora's daughter Suzie. What working mom today hasn't had some guilt when it comes to handling work and home life? And this was in the 1950's when most white women were probably expected to get married rather than work. But the main reason to watch this movie is for the relationship between Annie and Sarah Jane. Yes, Annie is a bit too good to be true (like Melanie in Gone with the Wind). She tries her darndest to give Sarah Jane a good life, but wants Sarah Jane to accept that she 's black. And back then, this meant being "lesser than"-- having to go through back doors, etc. Sarah Jane does everything she can to not accept this fate, including rejecting her mother. Even as a child Sarah Jane rejects all things black, including a doll Suzie gives her. "Why do I have to have the black one?" And "Why do we always have to live in the back?" she wails. Anyone who thinks this is not true to life is in denial. Consider studies that have been done that show little black girls rejecting darker-skinned dolls and images--even today! Some of the best scenes in the film are between Lora and Annie. Lora is so self-centered she doesn't see her maid as a unique individual. Her problems aren't as "real" as her own with Suzie, for example. The scene after Annie rubs Lora's feet was the first time they had any real conversation about Annie's life and she discovers Annie has friends, is a member of several lodges, and a member of the church. Lora says it never occurred to her that she had any friends and Annie responds "Miss Lora, you never asked!" Classic! And as a black female I can honestly say that Susan Kohner's portrayal of Sarah Jane is spot on. The scene when she "acts black" in front of Lora with a tray on her head was priceless--she certainly deserved her Oscar nomination for this role. This movie has so many layers but is fun to watch in all its soapy glory, and if you don't tear up a little at the end, then perhaps you aren't really paying attention.

I have seen this movie many times and only just found out that it is a remake of a 1934 Claudette Colbert film. I find the topic fascinating as I am a member of a family with many very fair-skinned black people and my grandmother often spoke of cousins who "passed" that she never saw or heard from again. It is so sad that people couldn't just be who they are and be OK with it. On the other hand, it is a testament as to the whole idea of race and just how skin deep it truly is. This movie should also make everyone look at people a little differently. No one knows just who we all are or where we come from and what commonalities we all share. I love this film and like other viewers, it makes me cry every time too. This is a classic.