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QUEUED UP: Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life
Considering the way throngs flock to see the latest comic-book-to-silver-screen blockbusters, it's hard to believe there was once a place in Hollywood for the simpler likes of 1959's Imitation of Life.
QUEUED UP: Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life
Movie critic (and the guy who compiles our weekly repertory film listings) Andrew Wimer reviews his favorite Netflix Instant flick of the week.
Considering the way throngs flock robotically to see the latest comic-book-to-silver-screen blockbusters, it's hard to believe there was once a place in Hollywood for the simpler likes of 1959’s Imitation of Life. Certainly, the film's director, Douglas Sirk, could only exist in the bubble of the Golden-Age studio system, that fabulous bygone era of bright stars and elegant glitz. It's only fitting that his final Hollywood film would be the story of an actress, a superior remake to the 1934 work of the same name.
Both renditions of Imitation follow widowed Lora (Lana Turner, this time), who takes in a single black mother, Annie, (Juanita Moore) and her mixed daughter, Sarah Jane. In the original, the wealth of the paler woman and her daughter, Susie (look at me, I'm Sandra Dee), is gained exploiting Annie’s pancake recipe, but the remake recasts her as a stage actress. As such, the notion of “imitation” becomes far more relevant under Sirk, especially with the pre-existing sub-plot centered on Sarah Jane's attempts to pass as white. Saintly Annie remains the sole selfless character, battling Lora’s self-destruction, Susie’s jealousy of her mother’s romance, Sarah Jane’s self-loathing and the clueless efforts of Lora’s theater-industry suitors.
Unfortunately, there are some glaring, indicative-of-the-time flaws in Sirk’s undertaking. A white woman plays the character of Sarah Jane, mildly hindering the believability that her character is mulatto. Her acting is flawless from start to finish, but one wonders if there were no mixed actresses available. It is also disturbing in the original that the black mother refuses the measly 20-percent profits offered for her own recipe, but Annie’s content subservience is no less disheartening in the remake. These do little to distract from the film’s most powerful scenes, however. Sirk tastefully handles the beating of Sarah Jane by a white boyfriend, and (spoiler alert!) set to vocals by gospel queen Mahalia Jackson, Annie’s funeral will leave most grabbing for tissues. The occasional moment of hammy acting might inspire unintentional laughs, but you've gotta hand it to them. Not one soul in Hollywood would bank on such a risk today.
(andrew.wimer@citypaper.net) (@androokangaroo)
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