By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Why did James Dean have to die? He was the epitome of cool, had everlasting sex appeal and his performances always stay with the viewer. This review is going to have spoilers but the story is very well-known and revealing the plot points doesn’t take away from what the movie gives. It’s all about the acting and the depth of the characters that makes this film worthwhile.
I’ve read the John Steinbeck novel and I’ve seen the film East of Eden too many times to count. I grew up on the film. Oddly, I was the only one in my family who liked it. I had seen Rebel Without a Cause, fell in love with Dean, and then rented this. Days later, I bought the book at a store called The Newstand. I loved that place.
Everyone else in the household other than my mom thought it was boring. I always loved showing people movies, music and books that hit me in a certain way, but for some reason my siblings and foster-siblings didn’t enjoy it. To me, I always saw it as a story reminiscent of the Prodigal Son from the Bible. Though not religious in any conventional way, I have always been fascinated by the Bible and some of the stories within.
The only story I liked more than the Prodigal Son was Cain and Abel, which as an adult I realize are very similar. Both are about a son disobedient to their father and yet in the end are protected by their father even after their disloyalty.
Looking back, my tenth grade English teacher should have adored me. I was the ideal student. I loved literature, wanted desperately to be a writer and was eager to learn so much from him. He in-turn was a complete dick, who loved jocks and hated everyone else.
I remember he assigned us an oral presentation worth 50% of our grade. From memory, we had to recite a poem. Back then, I was an awkward kid with no friends and a bad childhood. “White trash” was the nicest thing I was called. I chose Jaberwocky and I had it down. I studied for weeks but when I was in front of everyone, I froze. I couldn’t do it. I stayed after class, and recited it to douchebag Mr. Marino and his response (as close to verbatim as I recall) was “You still fail. The assignment was to read it in front of the class not after class!” I cried so much. What an asshole! Now, I can facilitate meetings about topics I’m not even familiar with but back then I didn’t have the ability to bullshit. I wish I could go back to that day at that moment and just tell that jerk-off to go to hell. I think he went on to be a football coach and he was probably good at it; but he was a horrible English teacher.
I really went off topic there but it’s always fun to write about myself so if you read it, thanks for indulging.
East of Eden begins right before the first World War. It follows Cal (James Dean) who wants nothing more than to gain his father’s love. He already has it but doesn’t realize it and feels in constant competition with his brother Aron (Richard Davalos). Cal’s perspective on life and people is very black and white. He believes himself to be generally bad and Aron and his father Adam(Raymond Massey)to be good men. Both brothers initially believe their mother to be dead. Cal finds out his mother is very much alive and runs a brothel. He confronts his dad and finds out that Kate (Jo Van Fleet) had walked out on him. Cal’s black and white perspective receives more validation from this revelation as he sees that his mother is bad like him.
Meanwhile, Adam loses quite a bit of money in a business venture and Cal becomes determined to get the money back, believing this will gain his father’s love.
Aron’s girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris) is where the black and white fades and a level of gray comes into Cal’s life. At first, she’s afraid of him, but soon she falls for him. While at a carnival, Cal and Abra are on a ferris wheel and she reveals how she sees herself. She too believes that Aron is ‘good’ but isn’t quite sure about herself. Like many young women, she is confused. She feels bad at times. The two kiss but she breaks away insisting she loves Aron.
At Adam’s birthday party, Cal is excited as he was able to earn the money for his father and even wraps it up. Aron steals his thunder by saying that he and Abra were to be married even though Abra hadn’t known about the arrangement.
When Adam finds out how Cal earned the money he is disappointed and refuses to take it. He tries to tell Cal how much he loves him but Cal has an emotional breakdown the way only James Dean can do. He had a way of being tough and rugged and raw and then also need shelter and care and compassion in a believable and genuine way. Why did he have to die???
Things begin to crumble when Cal bring Aron to meet his mother. Aron has a mental breakdown of sorts, Adam becomes ill and stricken with grief and it is up to Cal to stay with Abra and take care of his father. This is a must-see. I know most of my family dislike period pieces. Anything that takes place before the 1950s, they can’t get into. I’ve always enjoyed movies regardless of when they took place as long as they were good films. This is beyond a good film. This is a great movie with heart and struggle and determination. It’s a piece of art that needs to be viewed and discussed.
Had Mr. Marino engaged his class with material like this and encouraged the students to think and analyze and write, I would have adored his class. That’s not to say I never had a teacher like that. In eighth grade, I had Mrs. Hogan for composition. I never missed a day. She let me write about anything I wanted and then I had no issues reading and giving oral presentations because she was so supportive. Mr. Marino’s demeanor and outright dislike of me was crushing as a child. Thankfully, I was able to drown my sorrows in movies like this. I was able to think and analyze and write, even if no one read it, about how much this film impacted me and what it meant to me.
Scared Stiff Rating: 10/10 It’s A Classic
