Come Back, Little Sheba,Conscientious Objector, I am not your Negro

5/11/17 Come Back, Little Sheba, Best Actress, 1952

Wikipedia categorizes Come Back, Little Sheba by William Inge as a "romance", but I think that may be a little misleading to those of us used to romances where the leads woo each other and make goo goo eyes, or fire witty barbs at one another. Nothing like that here. Shirley Booth is Lola (if you're a fan of 1960s sitcoms, you may be familiar with her as Hazel from the eponymous series), the devoted and dependent wife of "Doc" Delaney (Burt Lancaster), a recovering alcoholic, who has watched life pass both of them by. It's hard to know how many friends the Delaneys had before Doc succumbed to his alcoholism, but it seems pretty clear that they are fairly isolated a year into his sobriety. Lola tries, but Doc is reluctant to let anyone into their lives. However, Lola is determined to let out a room to one of the local college girls, and after a false start, and against Doc's wishes, she rents the room to Marie. Marie is a cute co-ed, who has a long distance beau, but flirts with Turk, a student athlete at the same college; and she is very flirtatious with Doc. Doc fights an internal battle with himself as he tries to resist his desire for Marie, and it's not a battle without its victims. Doc falls back to drinking, and many ugly truths about his marriage to Lola come out; it's pretty brutal to watch as Lola is devastated by Doc's cruelty. Doc goes into rehab and comes out appreciative for Lola's devotion to him. "Little Sheba" of the title is Lola's dog who runs away before the movie starts, and whom Lola misses quite a lot, and she never gives up hope that she will return, until the end. I sense that Sheba's loss is a metaphor, but I don't know if it's for Lola's innocence, or for their love, or something else (which I don't want to reveal, because that is part of the story I haven't told you). Shirley Booth was perfect for this role; I feel like I know people like her, lonely, but so eager to have a good friend; her husband is on a pedestal and she is very insecure within herself. It would have been easy to overact, and I don't think she did at all. Lancaster as Doc is also very good; he cares about Lola, but is clearly unhappy and tends to be aloof and brooding. The movie is heartbreaking, but there is an element of redemption, and being the optimist, that's what I hold on to. There are no special effects, no dance numbers or costumes, just a story of two people and a few moments in their lives. If you're looking for something off the beaten path of familiar movies, I would recommend Come Back, Little Sheba.

5/12/17 Conscientious Objector, 2004

Hacksaw Ridge was the dramatization of the life of Desmond Doss, and it was a fabulous movie (you can believe me, because I was pretty ready to hate it), and if you watched some of the special features on the DVD, you saw interviews with the real Desmond Doss and some of the men with whom he served. It turns out that there is a documentary, with in depth interviews with Doss, those men and others, his brother and sister. Doss talks about his decisions not to pick up a weapon, even if it meant he could not go on leave; you get to hear that he still had the courage of his convictions, and also how despised he was for them. But those same men, even one of his officers, recall how he won them over with his determination and bravery. I don't know if this country could have ever properly honored or repaid Doss for the sacrifices he made, but that doesn't seem to be anything that crosses his mind. He was a simple man, with a simple and straightforward philosophy of life, and a belief that God would provide (and that is said without callousness or snark) and that he would do the right thing. If you haven't seen Hacksaw Ridge, I suggest putting it on your list, and add Conscientious Objector (if you can find it, I got it through Interlibrary Loan) as well. Desmond Doss was a true American hero and more people should know about him.

5/13/17 I Am Not Your Negro, nominated Best Documentary, 2016

I Am Not Your Negro is the last of the feature documentaries for 2016, and when you put it together with 13th and Oscar-winner OJ: Made in America, you get a very comprehensive look at civil rights and race relations in America over the past 75 years. Sadly, it's almost like time stood still, and while there has been progress, it hasn't been enough. I Am Not Your Negro was based on James Baldwin's unfinished manuscript Remember This House and it includes footage of Baldwin at various debates and on television shows, like Dick Cavett; Samuel L. Jackson provides the narration. Baldwin was a novelist and an essayist, and the documentary feels (to me) more like an essay than a hardcore investigative or historical documentary. Baldwin talks about (through Jackson's voice and his own in speeches) his thoughts on race; the difference between living in the north versus the south; his friendships with Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X, all three of whom were assassinated; living in Europe while so much turmoil was happening in America. I appreciated the film for Baldwin's perspective, and I liked that there was so much actual footage of him speaking. Baldwin died in 1987, but I think he would have a lot of insight for everything that has happened recently, in fact, the director includes news footage from the past couple of years.