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Brooklyn,
in the early 1900s. The Nolan family live in near poverty
thanks partly to the father's alcoholism. But, when he is
sober, the head of the household regales his family with crazy
stories - getting the children's hopes up that one day things
will be much better. We live through the family's troubles:
Their
aunt Sissy's scandalous succession of male partners; the tearing
down of the only tree visible from their tenement; and the
daughter's desire to move to a better school... if only their
father would get his act together...
A
Tree Grows in Brooklyn is based on the acclaimed best-selling
novel by Betty Smith. The movie is a realistic, if somewhat
bleak, portrayal of a family which takes everything that life
has to throw at them and still manage to struggle on.
For
the film's duration we move in with the Nolan's and experience
life as a member of their family. This claustrophobic device
works well. Cramped in their apartment with them, venturing
out rarely on the odd occasions when they go out, it doesn't
take long to feel like part of the family.
The
story is told from the point of view of the two children,
but mainly the eldest, Francie. It is Francie whose head is
filled with the images of what could be by her father's wild
stories. It is also Francie who has the ability to succeed
in life as she shows great promise academically.
It's
quite some time that before we meet the father of the family
- which wonderfully illustrates how much of a stranger he
is to his family. If he's not working nights, he's at the
local public house finding solace at the bottom of a jug of
ale. But he's not a nasty man. When he's sober he is a kind
and affectionate man - able to charm the birds down from the
trees - but money is tight and all the family wants to do
is get by.
The
movie is divided into two halves. The opening deals with the
family's daily routine and ongoing financial worries, while
the second segment deals with how they cope with a serious
interruption to this routine.
Dorothy
McGuire is believable as the poor mother of the family. But
thank goodness for the injection of a little light relief,
thrust at the viewer in the form of the children's man eating
aunt Sissy (Joan Blondell).
Bleak
and depressing this may be, but it still manages to hit the
right spot, even after 60 years since it's was first released
cinematically.
Pete
Boomer
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