"Long Day's Journey Into Night" Review

 

by Daniel White

"Then in the spring something happened to me... I fell in love with James Tyrone and was so happy - for a time."

One of life's more satisfying occurrences is the magic that happens when luminous actors meet up with brilliant prose. You can experience that magic by viewing Long Day's Journey Into Night, Eugene O'Neill's classic play. It's been captured on celluloid and brought to fruition, with the help of four extraordinary performers. Sidney Lumet, the director, made the wise decision to film in-sequence, to treat the text with the respect it deserves. Rehearsed for three weeks, then shot in New York City, he also honors his cast by permitting them to fully realize the characters they are playing.

An autobiographical tale, it takes place over a 24-hour period. James and Mary Tyrone are at their summer home, with their two adult sons, Jamie and Edmund. Mary has recently been released from a sanitarium, attempting once again to recover from morphine addiction. Hopeful but wary, the boys and their father are devastated when they realize Mary has returned to active use. As the day unravels and the night descends, truths will be revealed, past disappointments revisited, and long festering resentments exposed.

Katharine Hepburn is magnificent as Mary Tyrone. A role that every ambitious, talented, BRAVE actress of a certain age should tackle, if possible. Hepburn is phenomenal. I saw both Colleen Dewhurst and Ellen Burstyn successfully bring the tragic, bitter, despondent Mary to life, and I think Hepburn's portrayal is the most effective. Some who enjoy the history of film, still recall with regret, Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan, winning the Oscar over Bette Davis's Baby Jane. Hell, Katharine Hepburn, nominated the same year (1962), working with superior material, outmaneuvers them both. This is a powerhouse performance of legendary proportions.

The real surprise is Dean Stockwell. Miss Hepburn, Ralph Richardson as father James, and Jason Robards as elder brother Jamie, are seasoned theatrical players, gifted emoters upon the stage (Robards was nominated for a Tony for his turn as Jamie in 1957). But Stockwell, with only limited experience on "the boards," not only keeps up with them, manages to steal, on occasion, a scene or two.

At close to three hours, Long Day's Journey Into Night is challenging. The material is somber, often brutal (though the talented actors manage to find the considerable humor sprinkled throughout). But if you are searching for genius, want to revel in greatness, and witness art in its highest form, treat yourself to Long Day's Journey Into Night. You will not be disappointed. With frequent Lumet collaborator Boris Kaufman delivering exquisite B&W cinematography, the 1962 Long Day's Journey Into Night is currently available on YouTube.