The Grapes of - HEY! There's No Grapes Here!

Film: The Grapes of Wrath
Year: 1940
Where I Saw It: Netflix

When I first had to read this book for a university course, I was hoping it would be about angry fruit wanting to get revenge on the human race for eating so many of its comrades.  Maybe they would roll into people's mouths while they slept thus causing the person to choke to death.  Sadly, this wasn't the case.  I still enjoyed the book but I still feel Steinbeck missed the bigger picture.  Why write a book about the trials and tribulations of the Great Depression when you can write about grapes with a vendetta?

When I sat down to watch this movie, I still had the old hope that I was about to be treated to two hours of people being attacked by fruit.  Again though, this was not to be.  But as with the book, I still enjoyed this film.  It has great characters, an excellent plot and really gives you an insight to just how much people put up with back then.  I can't imagine myself doing half of what the family in the film does in order to make a living and provide for themselves.

My one warning (if you want to call it that) about this film though is that the script follows the play version of the book more than the book itself.  The result is you feel like you're watching a movie of a play.  There's minimal scene changes and more often than not, the camera is in a fixed point as apposed to multiple camera angles in a single scene.  This sometimes makes the film feel longer than it is.  But if you're familiar with the play, it's great to see some big name actors of the time tackle a fantastic piece of literature.

One Last Point - To see if my idea had any subsistence to it I threw a grape at my brother.  It hit him in the face.  I definitely would be able to watch two hours of that.  No problem.