This movie was messy as hell! I had never seen A Streetcar Named Desire but I have heard of it and and this is what I told L. I thought the movie was about. Some dude that races cars is in love with some woman named Stella that wont be with him because of his streetwise ways. He gets wet and yells her name. I was wrong. This movie was about all kinda shit I didn't know they were talking about back in 1951. I mean, this movie came out when my parents were 1 and 0 years old! This movie had everything! Abusive marriages. Alcoholism. Lies. Student fucking. Just...everything! This lady named Blanche DuBois who is a teacher shows up in New Orleans to stay with her sister, Stella. She lives there with her husband Stanley who is a true piece of work. Blanche says that she is off from work because of her nerves. She acts like she is damn near a princess and Stanley's attitude rubs her the wrong way but she tries to deal with him. He on the other hand can't stand her immediately.
Blanche ends up telling Stella that she lost ownership of the family home, Belle Reve after taking care of all the family members like her father and such who all died. Stanley don't believe that shit and keeps mentioning to Stella some law where the amount she got from the home belongs to Stella as well. Stanley gets more pissed at Blanche and grabs some of her papers and they turn out to be old poems from her husband that died young. Stanley lets Blanche know that Stella is pregnant. Blanche ends up meeting Stanley's friend Mitch who take scare of his sick mother. Stella is like “Okay...” but Blanche seems to mostly like him because he falls for her weird Southern ways.
One night while playing poker because all these dudes do is play poker, bowl, and get drunk, Stanley ends up hurting Stella and she and Blanche head to another apartment in the building. This is where he stands outside screaming for her. Stella ends up back with him because he looks great in a tight shirt. Blanche wants Stella to leave Stanley but that shit ain't happening.
Blanche is still in Stanley and Stella's place and he is over the shit. He just wants to be with his pregnant wife and have their new kid without this lying ass woman staying there being weird. Mitch wants to be with Blanche but she is worried because she has lied to him about her age, so much so that they only go out to dark places and at night. Stanley starts digging itno Blanche's past and finds out all kinds of truths about her. He tells them to Mitch at work and now he don't wanna even talk to her. During dinner while Blanche is waiting for him Stanley snaps and reveals that he told Mitch all about her. They start getting into it and then Stella goes into labor. The shit was super dramatic. Mitch shows up late at night drunk and acting like a lunatic and confronts Blanche about her past and lies. She's like “I wasn't lying in my heart, so...” and he makes her stand in the light so he can see what her face really looks like.
Stanley gets home from the hospital where Stella is still in labor and Blanche is all dressed up and ready to go on a trip with some made up man. Stanley is like “Uh-huh. Sounds great.” Stanley starts to break her down and tells her how she is just a lying liar who lies and ends up fucking raping her. Now. At a certain point I knew he was a shit husband and friend but thought that he was onto Blanche from the get-go and wanted her to leave. But after this fuck this guy. Some time later Stella and her friend are talking about Blanche not eating or coming out of her room for weeks. They tell her she is going on a trip while Stanley and his friends are playing poker. Blanche is hesitant but eventually decides to leave until she sees its a doctor and his assistant. She is like “Wait a second...” and tries to fight it off. The doctor convinces her to leave. Mitch is pissed and says this is all Stanley's fault. Stella heads outside with her kid while Stanley screams for her but she decides to finally get the hell away from him.
Now, I didn't know this movie was gonna touch on themes like sexual assault, mental illness, and homosexuality. Blanche's first husband that wrote poetry was driven to suicide by her calling him weak. The acting in this was good, the setting (which I didn't realize shrunk as the movie went on), and the feel of the movie. It felt like I was being a nosy ass neighbor and all up in these folks business. I'm not even gonna wonder how I never saw this. I'm just glad I finally did. Its definitely rewatchable. Oh, and I didn't even mention the part where this young dude showed up and Blanche was playing all coy with him and kissed him fantasizing about some student she had boned down. Or her sleeping around with folks in another city. Yeah.
Vivien Leigh as Blanche
Marlon Brando as Stanley
Kim Hunter as Stella
Karl Malden as Mitch
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