The screen adaptation of A Rasin in the Sun stays faithful to the play script written by Lorrianne Hansberry. The movie of A Rasin in the sun impacts the way we view the playwright because we no longer have the mental image of these characters, but a real interpretation of them. This can change how we relate and digest the story because now these characters seem more “real”. There were a lot of moments very faithful to the script, but what stuck out the most in my opinion is how Walter was portrayed. Seeing an exclamation point after a sentence in a book can help you understand the person speaking is upset, or excited, but seeing it onscreen creates an entirely different experience. A Character that stood out the most to me was Walter. His portrayal is very powerful and fuels the most difficult dynamics between the family and himself. This is seen in the play, but you see the full magnitude of his actions and words in the classic film.
In the first scene of the play, Walter is read to be very confrontational, he thinks very highly of himself and what he thinks a wife should be doing for him as head of the house. In the film, the actor portrays this very well, the difference between just reading and visualizing the stage directions and seeing it genuinely unfold is different. The stage directions during the argument between Ruth and Walter reads “WALTER (Rising and coming to her and standing over her) You tired, ain’t you? Tired of everything. Me, the boy, the way we live—this beat-up hole—everything. Ain’t you?” (35). These stage directions do show Walter towering over her, trying to show dominance but does not fully articulate the weight of the words being said by just reading. In the movie however, while the actor of Walter, Sydney Poitier, is following these stage directions, he is doing even more. He is sweating, visibly angry and unsatisfied with his life that his insults to ruth seem twice as harsh. There is an edge to his tone that hasn’t even reached its full potential as the rant from him is just starting. Ruth is played by Ruby Dee, who portrays her in a cold but submissive way, showing how the romance in this relationship is dead. She is visibly very annoyed with him, and he knows this, pushing further and further to get a reaction out of her. Walter is very articulated when he speaks, his eyes boring into ruth’s, as she tries not to make much eye contact with him as he blames and insults her. This is not the first time they have had conversations like this, even before they mention the fact that it is a constant argument you can see the exhausted look in Ruth’s eyes and how annoyed Walter is at her having little to no reaction to his words.
In this scene it is also evident the way he interacts with Beneatha is impacted by Poitier’s method of portraying Walter. Beneatha, played by Diana Sands, is the most comedic character in the movie, as she is very focused on living her life as freely as she wants and wanting to serve a purpose, this leads to some classically funny moments in the film. In the same scene, Walter instantly has a problem with Beneatha being in the room, the second thing he says to her being “WALTER (Pushing the paper across the table to her as he studies her almost clinically, as though he has never seen her before) You a horrible-looking chick at this Hour.” (39). While reading the screenplay, I thought of this as how siblings talk, they insult each other not truly meaning it. The tone of Walter’s voice in the film sets the difference between the script and the movie though, the way he says it in the film is filled with disgust. His voice is low and having just argued with Ruth, he is angry. This is very different from the possible playful interpretation that is seen in the script, even though they are the exact same words. This is a common dynamic throughout the movie, they bicker but it is more like strangers arguing rather than siblings, harsh tones being used. A moment that stood out the most between the two in my opinion is when Walter is drunk later in the movie and dances with Beneatha. You see them be playful and enjoy the company of one another and it is a wholesome sibling moment. Walter and Beneatha have a strained sibling dynamic enhanced by the performances of Sands and Poitier.
If not for Sydney Poitier’s powerful portrayal of Walter in this film, then these crucial relationships would have a different feeling to them, possibly changing the relationship of the film to the script.
Questions:
- What character stuck out the most to you because of how they were portrayed? How does this affect your interpretation of the character in the script?
- According to Turner Classic Movies, this film was voted One of the Year’s Ten Best Films by the 1961 New York Times Film Critics, how do you think this film impacted the audience at the time?
Citations:
“A Raisin in the Sun.” Www.tcm.com, www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/87646/a-raisin-in-the-sun#notes. Accessed 24 Feb. 2024.
A Rasin in the Sun. Directed by David Petrie, Colombia Pictures, 29 May 1961.
Hansberry, Lorraine. Lorraine Hansberry’s a Rasin in the Sun. New York ; London, French, 1984.
