I've only recently viewed this film on Direct TV, Pay Per View. I might never have been aware of it otherwise ... which is a shame. It is an "art piece" and a deeply moving expression of social commentary.

As soon as the opening sequences began, I recognized outstanding cinematography that continually remained an added voice in expository story-telling. The lighting, camera's point of view, and pacing seemed always to underscore the emotional impact of a scene. I was drawn in immediately.

As the protagonist, Lawrence Newman, peered nervously between his blinds and witnessed a crime that he shrank away from reporting, I knew I wanted to learn the outcome. And I was intrigued even further when I realized that the solving of this crime was not to be the main focus of the story.

This man's once timid character, his tentative inner strength, and the lapsed courage of his convictions under fire, all finally redeveloping during the course of his life experiences in 1944 is what this story is about. And it is an extremely challenging task to depict a nervous, insecure, shamefully reticent man during his process of developing the character strength to stand up to contradictory influences. William H. Macy manages to portray this character with such delicate shadings of expression and body language that we can both pity and empathize with him while disapproving of his actions. When he finally develops the backbone to stand up for himself and his wife, we respect him, and realize that his challenges may only be just beginning.

Love, honor, and friendship are the forces that forge him into a stronger man, and I appreciated seeing this happen. First, we see that he is a middle aged bachelor, still living at home with his widowed mother. He treats her with love and consideration as he departs for work. At work, he appears torn between being fair to the job applicants he must interview, and obedient to his employer, who expects him to exercise prejudice against Jews. His employer insists that Lawrence obtain glasses, as he seems not to be seeing his applicants clearly enough to discriminate properly. The first dramatic irony is that these glasses seem to make him appear to be one of the very people he was expected to better recognize. The very first person he manages to stand up to is his mother, when she objects to his glasses because they, "... make you look Jewish." He ignores her and wears them anyway. When Gertrude Hart appears for an interview, he is immediately sexually attracted to her, which is obviously (and humorously) disquieting to him. When he glances at her name, "Hart", he seems to recognize that she must be Jewish, and dismisses her. I think his first jolt out of conformity is when she courageously calls him on this and stomps away from his desk. He admires her, in addition to being attracted to her. When he is subsequently rejected by his bosses for appearing Jewish, is turned down for employment by each gentile business at which he applies, and finally approaches a Jewish business and finds Gertrude Hart there, his life begins to change.

I had trouble accepting the idea that these glasses made "Lawrence Newman" look Jewish. I don't think they did. William H. Macy looks Irish to me and always will. Laura Dern didn't look especially Jewish, either... but I believe that it was her surname that was supposed to have caused Lawrence to assume she was Jewish, not her appearance. Then I decided to just accept the concept of the glasses as a symbolic plot device for purposes of dramatic irony, and left it at that. The unbelievability of the glasses and their supposed effect distracted me at first, but I got over it.

LOVE TRANSCENDS ALL

The acting between Macy and Dern during their initial dating sequence and burgeoning love affair was splendid. I could watch those scenes over and over again. They filled me with delight. The man who appeared so non-sexual and repressed, opening up to this earthy and sexually expressive woman was wonderful to behold. Her pleasure in exciting him, and the effect of that on his personality and her sense of emotional security in his love was so brilliantly portrayed. It had to be... so that we were ready to believe his developing change of character and courage when he is tested even more dramatically later. I do not want to give away the final sequence of this film... I've revealed enough already... but it is worth viewing the upsetting aspects of the story in order to better experience the inspiring conclusion.

Lawrence must find the courage to stand up to the neighbors who try to punish him for purchasing his newspaper from the Jewish shop keeper on the corner. He must decide who his friends really ARE. The Jewish shopkeeper is a fine supporting character whose seemingly self-destructive determination not to be driven from the neighborhood is an example to Lawrence, and helps him to find the courage within himself.

There are portions of this film that ARE disturbing and depressing... it is an adult film about human nature that high school students would be ready to comprehend. It is not for younger children, and it is not a family film... but the plot brings us out of the uncomfortable challenges and into the realization that we must stand up to these influences of prejudice in society.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older