The Glass Menagerie (1973) - 10 stars out of 10

The Glass Menagerie (1973) - 10 stars out of 10

"The Glass Menagerie" is a slice of Americana, showing the opposite of the American dream as a single mother struggles to hold her family together.  This Tennessee Williams play uses a cast of four, each with a completely opposite personality.  It takes true talent to play any of these roles because each personality is taken to its extreme.  Hepburn gets into the role of Amanda to the point that you would argue that her southern accent is her true voice as she flawlessly delivers pages of dialogue without hesitation.  The entire sequence with Laura is enchanting as this unfortunate girl finds Jim, who is almost symbolic of everything that Laura desires.  Joanna Miles personifies innocence beautifully while Michael Moriarty has the charaisma and likeability to create a perfect contrast.  Enough cannot be said for Sam Waterston whose personality evolves from sympathy to frustration to rage and back to sympathy in a matter of minutes through his dialogue with Hepburn.  His narration as Tom shows the remorse and yet necessity of following in his father's footsteps.  To keep things interesting, the straightforward story throws in a few twists though the focus of the film is the characters and not the story.  It is fitting at all four actors were nominated for a Primetime Emmy and unfortunate that all four could not win.  "The Glass Menagerie" transcends made-for-tv movies and should be regarded as one of the finest examples of acting in the world of cinema.