A Streetcar Named Desire

This made for TV movie of the classic Tennessee Williams play was produced following the Broadway revival starring Jessica Lange and Alex Baldwin, that was not critically well-received. Given the Hollywood marquee names of the stars, the idea that a film would be made with them is not too surprising, though we were deprived of Amy Madigan's Stella. (Ironically Lange's performance on stage had been criticized as being 'for the camera').

Given the gay context of Blanche DuBois as a fading old maid at 30, Lange is too old to play her, and her sturdy physicality works against the standard interpretation of Blanche as an Ophelia-ish lightweight. (Lange's waist makes the idea that Blanche has not gained weight in 10 years unintentionally funny). However Lange provides redemptive brilliant touches, that make her Blanche more accessible than that of Vivien Leigh in the 1951 feature, with Leigh's theatrical Gothic Blanche looking as if she would fit into The Munsters. (Don't get me started on Ann-Margret and the way she threw away Williams' lines in her TVM). Lange has fun with the southern accent, and makes you appreciate the beauty and wit of Williams' language. Witness what she does with Blanche's story of the death of her first husband, which director Glenn Jordan rewards her with a close-up for the climax, where she is touching in her hesitance and sorrow. Lange also looks very beautiful in half-shadow when Blanche confesses her indiscretions, though she is lit so well otherwise that the idea that Mitch has never seen Blanche 'properly' reads as silly. The mature Lange mannerisms - her giggling, whispering, preening and fidgeting - draw attention to the performance, and she does not use her low vocal tones enough, but still, this is a performance we should be glad has been captured.

Baldwin does not repeat the mistake of Treat Williams in the A-M TVM. He does not try to imitate Brando, but rather underplays his Stanley, which also does not detract from the character's cruelty. Baldwin shows his attraction to Lange's Blanche, which Brando never really did with Leigh, and his hairy chest still alludes to the hunk appeal that Stanley has for Stella. John Goodman's casting as Mitch was presumably at the suggestion of Lange, since he has appeared with her in many films, and he supplies delicate line readings. I suppose Diane Lane was cast as Stella for her earthiness, but she doesn't really match up as Lange's sister, and doesn't suggest the breeding Stella is supposed to have had.

Jordan doesn't get in Lange's way for the most part, and he succeeds in translating the piece fluidly from theater into film, though one shot of Blanche and Mitch standing apart on a porch makes us imagine how this would look on stage. The only time we are aware of the camera-work is in the last scene, where he repeats a shot of Blanche as she screams, somewhat gratuitously. That last scene is handled simply, with Blanche's fate and Lange's casting inevitably drawing parallels with Frances Farmer.

Although this version of the play allows for what was censored in the original production eg Blanche's husband's being a 'degenerate, thematically the treatment still has some trouble spots. Here Blanche seems to offer little resistance to Stanley's rape, and Stella does not reject Stanley once her sister is taken away. That rape remains as an in-balance in the power struggle - something you would think to be unforgivable by Stella, and certainly undeserving to Blanche. She may have been a relative overstaying her welcome, but is Blanche believable as a force that could destroy Stanley's marriage?

Wow. Still reeling from this one several hours later. What a true and deep and affecting performance from Jessica Lange plus the usual intelligent and imaginative choices from Alec Baldwin. I've seen a few productions of this, plus the Brando movie. I have never before been left with such depth of feeling for ALL of those characters trying to find their feet again in the conflicts and complexities of that post World War 2 society.

This is mostly a fine production of the venerable Tennessee Williams classic. Baldwin relies a bit too heavily on Brando portrayal but Lange finds her own way. She gives the doomed, fragile Blanche an inner strength that most other interpretors do not. Lane and Goodman are fine, as well.

I realize that these commentaries should not try to answer to previously written ones. Those things should be reserved for the message boards. But I simply have to answer to some kind of general consensus, that I have no idea where some of the people writing these reviews get their ideas from. I am appalled that someone was looking for more sex and violence. That was not in the intention or the writing of Tennessee Williams. 'Nuf said.

I think that this production was so very fine. I saw Diane Lane bring a quality to Stella that no one else ever has. You can read her feelings on her face. How torn she is between her love for Stanley and the remembrances of a loving older sister. AND she is beautiful. She is everything that makes us understand that Stanley really couldn't stand to lose her. And Alec Baldwin as Stanley brought a humanity to his portrayal that others, even the famed Brando, did not...it is called REALITY. He was real. Baldwin was not the stereotype that Blanche wanted to convince Stella that he was. It was true that he knew the seamier side of life, so he recognized that part of Blanche that was, indeed, the fallen woman.[And, by the way, his accent was meant to be from New York, not the South.] But I also could see his very real pain of being talked down by Blanche, the fear of losing Stella because of Blanche trying to pull her away from him. Yes, he does turn mean and uncaring, which Stella especially can not understand. But he does so because Blanche is threatening his entire life, and the love of his life. So, he fights back. I have seen the '49 movie many times, and several staged productions, and have memorized and done scenes from the play myself. I have never seen anyone play Stanley with the pain, and the fear that Baldwin brought to the part.

I thought that John Goodman did a remarkable turn in the role of Mitch. If others couldn't get the comedy of his TV role out of their minds, I don't credit that to a fault in Goodman, but a fault in the viewer. Blanche was once beautiful and still was very attractive, but as she says "played out". She wasn't looking for a "beautiful boy" any more, even though her closing in insanity drew her that way. She was looking for a safe cleft in the rock in which she could hide. Goodman played Mitch as gentle, and caring and concerned about his looks not being up to the standards of someone like the Blanche that he perceived.

I felt that Jessica Lange was the one person that had seen the old movie, and Vivian Leigh's performance too much. Her accent was just like Leigh's. But she was good. She also won an Emmy for Best Actress for that performance if memory serves. But the two performances that just made me weep were Baldwin's and Lane's. Lane as Stella says to Stanley, "You didn't see her when she was young, no one was as trusting as Blanche." and I felt every word. But when Diane Lane cries at the end with such depth of anguish, I said to myself, that I would just watch and wait for her to win an Oscar. [I know, I'm still waiting, but she will, one of these days] She is the real thing, boys and girls. That woman is not only beautiful, but she can act circles around the lot of them. Her casting made Stella into a very real person. And I totally believed the love that she and Stanley had for each other. I can not say the same for Kim Hunter who did win an Oscar for her portrayal of the same part.

I have long loved this play. We can not help but love the old movie. But this production tears my heart out.

Having played Blanche duBois myself, I'm hypercritical of all other actresses who tackle A Streetcar Named Desire. I've only given compliments to two other actresses: Cate Blanchett (in the modern remake Blue Jasmine) and Jessica Lange in the tv version. Jessica is a very attractive woman and can handle Southern belle in her sleep, but she didn't rest on her laurels for Blanche. She truly studied the script and the character - it showed.

John Goodman reunited with his Everybody's All-American costar and played Mitch. Although Mitch isn't the hardest role to play, Goodman was a good casting choice and delivered a solid performance. A surprising pick was Diane Lane as Stella. Stella is usually portrayed as a frumpy woman, a contrast to her sister's elegance. Audiences are almost supposed to think she sunk to where she belonged when she chose Stanley for a husband. But you can see the good breeding in Diane. When Jessica continually says she thinks her sister could have done better, we agree with her. For although Stanley is played by a good-looking man, we don't understand why she sunk down in the mud. Diane also doesn't play Stella as "mealy-mouthed". She's been beaten down, but once upon a time, she had as much energy as her sister. It's an interesting take on the role, and I appreciated it.

Alec Baldwin played Stanley Kowalski, and although he ticked all the boxes of acting as an uncouth slob, he didn't really delve any deeper into the character. A dirty shirt and a swagger helps with an initial impression, but a good actor knows not to rely on them. It felt like he was "acting", and it didn't feel like Jessica Lange was. She truly was Blanche. She used her femininity: giggling, trying to appear smaller than her frame, moving her hands with grace, and trying to soothe everything with a smile. Smiling is very ladylike, and underneath all her fluff was a simmering fear - fear that she'll be found out, fear that she'll crack, and fear that her coping mechanisms won't work. Jessica used the script, filled in the cracks, and gave a multi-dimensional performance that makes you say, "Vivien who?"