A Streetcar Named Desire

I tend to dislike older films, I do not know why, I just always do, but I found A Streetcar Named Desire to be a personal exception. I think the film itself, and the works of the director Elia Kazan, and especially the performers, Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh to be ahead of their times. The majority of films I have seen from this era present a different perspective of the lives of post WWII Americans. Despite the typical "happy days" portrayal I am used to, this film sheds a whole new light on the times.
Despite being a black and white motion picture, the lighting in the film contributes to the feelings and situations the actors are faced with. In combination with Marlon Brando's exceptional naturalistic acting (70), the film seems to engulf you in the flames of Stella, Stanley, and Blanche's issues. In my opinion, Brando grasped the concept and values of the character Stanley in such a unique and incomparable way. Brando did what all good actors attempt to do, to actually become their characters and make the audience develop feelings towards their role, and without a doubt, Brando nailed it.
The story begins when Blanche, due to her circumstances in Aureole, goes to New Orleans to stay with her younger sister and her husband, Stanley and Stella. Although their apartment is very small and cluttered Stella welcomes her sister with open arms, but Stanley is a little less welcoming and almost immediately tries to subdue Blanche with his controlling and brute personality, in which Stella has already become a victim to. This initial encounter between Stanley and Blanche paves the way for their argumentative relationship that is soon to develop. During this scene, the director uses key lighting (83) to intensify what is going on and brings focus to Blanche's mysteriousness.
As I mentioned, the lighting in this movie contributes to the feelings that surround it. In one scene with Blanche and Mitch, a friend of Stanley's, the importance of the lighting is highlighted. Mitch noticed that he has never met with Blanche during the day, and even when they meet in the evening they always go somewhere with dim lighting. Throughout the duration of the film, with the exception of this particular scene, Blanche's face was always shadowed and never visible under a strong light, again really contributing to the mysteriousness of her and her past.
In the end the truth comes out, and everyone finds out that Blanche left Aureole because of an affair she had with a 17 year old student of hers, and because of the loss of her job and her newly acquired reputation, she was forced to leave. She came to New Orleans in hopes of starting fresh, but not only does her past come to haunt her, but her welcoming wore off quickly.

Work's Cited
StreetCar Named Desire, Brando and Leigh, 2009. Art.com Accessed on March 28,2010. (photo)
"A Streetcar Named Desire". Dir. Elia Kazan Perf. Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh. Charles K. Felmen Group Films, 1951. (Film)
Timothy Corrigan and Patricia White"The Film Experience: An Introduction". Boston, Ma. Bedford/St. Martins Publishing. 2009 (text)