THE GRAPES OF WRATH

My 2023 Film Journey to see cinematically acclaimed stories or performances continues with The Grapes of Wrath. This film is often cited as one of the greatest American films ever made. Those heralding this film include The National Film Registry, The National Board of Review, the American Film Institute, and others. The film’s aggregate scoring by professional movie critics on Rotten Tomatoes is 100% approval. My expectations were high. Maybe too high. I found this film to be average at best. I’m left wondering if much of the praise for the film is merely bled over from appreciation for the John Steinbeck novel upon which it was based.

Released in 1940, The Grapes of Wrath follows the Joad family. Following the Great Depression, they, like so many thousands of others, lost their Midwest farmland to banks eager to benefit from defaulted loans. In a single motor vehicle the family of 10, spanning 4 generations, heads off to California, a land of promise. It's a land they've been led to believe will lead to opportunities for employment and stability. The journey takes its toll as two of the elderly Joads pass away along the trek. Upon arrival in California, the family learns that the opportunities they had hoped for are not much better than slave labor. Greedy landowners know that they can pay the least amount possible because of the incredible amount of people seeking work, and they abuse this scenario to the fullest. Eventually, the Joads find their way to the Weedpatch Camp, a farming facility run by the Department of Agriculture that offers fair pay, running water, indoor toilets, and cleaner living opportunities. The future begins looking brighter for most of the Joads, though the central character Tom Joad (Henry Fonda) must leave. Like Moses, he’s unable to enjoy the promised land.

The movie ends in a somewhat more positive tone than the novel. At its core, the film conveys the American fascination with overcoming adversity and triumphing through sheer determination. The political musings from the book are more muted in the film, but the dangers of unregulated capitalism and the benefits of social programs and safety nets are certainly on full display.

My overall disappointment with The Grapes of Wrath isn’t in how well it did or didn’t convey the themes and nuances of the novel it was based on, but rather with the agonizingly stilted acting (and staging) of the entire cast and the seemingly endless pontifications by just about every character. The entire Joad family is almost divinely filled with wisdom that flows bountifully with cloying purity and resilience. I’m obviously in the minority on this one, as the film was nominated for seven Oscars. Director John Ford took home the award for Best Director and Jane Darwell (Ma Joad) won for Best Supporting Actress. While I’m sure the telling of this tale was groundbreaking when it debuted, for me, it’s too stiff and contrived to hold up against much better perseverance-themed films, regardless of when they were released.