Mar. 22, 2006 - 7:11 pm

East of Eden (1955)

i've sort of gotten back into my old pattern lately of jumping from one film to another with a connection in mind. Jill and i went to see Tristan and Isolde (2005) a couple of months ago, which reinforced my opinion that James Franco is an awesome actor. i then watched him in the tv movie James Dean (2001)...which Franco won a Golden Globe for. after watching that, i wanted to see a real James Dean movie, so I watched East of Eden.

the movie is about two teenage brothers who live together with their father in the country in 1917, just before the outbreak of WWI. the younger brother, Cal (Dean), is rather odd though, and can't seem to do anything to make his father show any love for him. he's tormented by this and tries to locate his supposedly deceased mother who is now a "lady of ill repute." he also starts flirting with his brother's fiancée, which of course causes problems. in the end, some things turn out badly, and some are better than ever. it's based on the novel by Steinbeck and Steinbeck was reportedly extremely pleased with his friend Elia Kazan's film production. he was also extraordinarily pleased with the choice of newcomer James Dean. Upon being introduced to James Dean on the set, he exclaimed, "Jesus Christ, he IS Cal!"

the title of this movie comes from the Bible. "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden." (Genesis 4:16) the sheriff says this to Cal (Dean's character) at the end of the movie. he's referring to Cain and Abel, and saying that Cal has basically ruined the life of his brother.

it's a very emotional story, and very enjoyable. i know that i don't enjoy this one as much as Rebel Without a Cause (1955), though, so i think i'm going to have to watch that one again sometime soon.