Suddenly, Last Summer

Watching this movie, I couldn’t help but think that this type of direction is rarely seen today. I’ll get to the story, characters, and other elements in a moment, but I first want to emphasize the direction. Mankiewicz is a master of blocking and setting up his characters. He truly knows how to structure a scene. Nowadays, many directors use cinemascope simply because it’s the norm, but often 90% of the frame isn’t utilized to its full potential. Nowadays there’s an overuse of central framing by a majority of directors, but Mankiewicz is a master at filling the entire frame with important details, ensuring nothing is overlooked. It’s striking to see this level of mastery today, and when compared to how films are shot now, you can really appreciate the difference.

Beyond that, the performances are fantastic, the story is both intriguing and captivating, and although the movie contains many long monologues, the script is so well-written and tight that it never loses you. The monologues pull you in rather than dragging on. It’s a remarkable achievement for a story to hold your attention like that. The characters are all unique, with clear, individual personalities; they never feel like the same person written by the same hand.

It truly is an amazing film, one that I don’t see many people talk about. Maybe it was more widely discussed during its heyday, but I feel it deserves more recognition today, alongside other classic films like Casablanca. It’s a genuinely great film, with such a tight script that it keeps you captivated for its two-hour runtime and never lets you go, 8.8/10

Character driven. Too much dialogue, annoying voice tones.... I didn’t like this movie.... the story was great but I couldn’t get over the other annoyances.