WRITER'S NOTE: The following is a collection of reviews posted on my Instagram account (@be.kerian) throughout the past twelve months. They’ve been organized--and will be posted--by specific categories, in chronological order based on initial (theatrical) release dates, and have been slightly edited.
Today's profile covers only a fraction of the career of one of our great screen actors. A man who not only broke more barriers than one, but was--and remains--a man of integrity, dignity, and noble character. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you . . . Sidney Poitier.
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
This controversial, challenging and gripping coming-of-age drama centers on an English teacher (played by an engrossing Glenn Ford) at a rough, inner-city high school, and chronicles the trials and tribulations he experiences and endures during the school year--physically, mentally, and emotionally. This was reportedly one of the first mainstream films to incorporate rock'n'roll music in its soundtrack ("Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets, long before George Lucas used it in American Graffiti), as well as a breakout feature for a young Sidney Poitier (magnetic as one of Ford's complicated students, and over a decade before he starred in To Sir, With Love). Blackboard Jungle handles its portrayal and awareness of juvenile delinquency (and discussions of race, sex, violence, and gangs) with raw emotion and truth. (5/19/2021)
Lilies of the Field (1963)
Sidney Poitier's Oscar-winning performance as a handyman drifter who reluctantly agrees to build a chapel for a group of European nuns found the celebrated actor at, perhaps, his most charismatic and carefree. (Who could forget the "Amen" sequence?) There are some flaws in characterizations and story in this complex tale of conflict and devotion. But its layered themes and visualizations of faith, as well as pride versus humility and teamwork, ring strong in this captivating film, shot brilliantly in black-and-white. (5/13/2021)
A Patch of Blue (1965)
As I've been discovering the filmography of Sidney Poitier (I know, better late than never), it not only amazes me of the countless barriers he broke in cinema, both as an actor and a person of color; but also that the filmmakers he worked with (particularly in the 1960s) were, perhaps, even more brave and daring when tackling their respective subject matters and social issues that were ahead of their time, and remain groundbreaking and relevant today. 1965's A Patch of Blue, from writer-director Guy Green, is no exception.
I was immediately struck and enchanted by this beautiful and heartbreaking story of a blind, uneducated young woman (Elizabeth Hartman, in a radiant and remarkable debut), living in a run-down apartment with an abusive mother (an Oscar-winning Shelly Winters) and an alcoholic grandfather (Wallace Ford, in his final film role), who meets and falls for a black man (Poitier), all while learning about the world around her. With perfect black-and-white cinematography by Robert Burks (along with Rita Roland and Hal G. Davis's crisp editing, and Green's expert direction), the strength of the film lies in its strong performances, particularly the kind and respectable relationship that blossoms between Poitier's Gordon and Hartman's Selina. Keep in mind this was two years before Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and its own handling of interracial coupling.
The film can be difficult to watch, even for its Sixties setting (a few scenes involve the aforementioned abuse and, at one point, an implied rape). Nevertheless, this is a bold and worthwhile story about tolerance and caring for others, and it does so without resorting to conventional melodrama. This is a true and original hidden gem. (5/10/2021)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Director Norman Jewison's thrilling and daring police drama, centered on two differing police officers (one black and one white) solving a homicide in a quiet Mississippi town in the 1960s, is not only an essential time capsule. It's also represents a radical change that was taking place in the U.S. as far as racial tensions, and how much we have and/or have not changed in retrospect. Carried by strong performances from the great Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, the film stands as a masterclass in acting, socially-conscious filmmaking, and challenging storytelling, not to mention powerful illustrations of abused power/authority and maintaining one's dignity. The choices that Poitier makes as an actor, as a character ("They call me Mr. Tibbs!"), and as a human being, are all very bold and genuine. The pivotal scene in the police station involving the wife of the murdered witness is a great case in point. (4/29/2021)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
A film that was truly ahead of its time, this Stanley Kramer-directed love story centers on an interracial couple (a possible first for a mainstream Hollywood film) as they visit the young woman's parents in San Francisco. It isn't long before the elephant in the room is addressed, considering its Civil Rights era setting. And yet, the directions this story takes with its character dynamics--and its themes on race, social status, generational changes, and family--are really subversive and thought-provoking, even if they can get crass. It certainly benefits from strong performances, with Poitier and then-unknown Katherine Houghton as the central couple, and screen veterans Katherine Hepburn (who won an Oscar for her performance) and Spencer Tracy (who was reportedly ill at the time and passed away shortly after filming wrapped) at the top of their game. A cinematic experience that will leave you speechless. (5/2/2021)
To Sir, With Love (1967)
One of three landmark films to be headlined by Sidney Poitier in 1967 (the other two being Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night). Here, Poitier plays a replacement teacher assigned to an undisciplined school in London, to educate a classroom of rebellious and troubled students. It doesn't take long for Poitier's Mark Thackeray to realize that his approach must involved treating his pupils not as children, but as developing adults. An unconventional coming-of-age story that examines 1960s youth (though not as dated as it seems) from abroad, generating discussions that range from work to marriage, sex, life, death, and facing the world's many adversities. As with many of Poitier's films, To Sir, With Love wisely avoids the melodrama and cliches that generally dodge this genre. Superb and ingenious. (5/11/2021)
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