Sydney Lumet's justifiably good film A VIEW From The Bridge based on Arthur Miller's great Broadway success is a gritty family drama with Italian actor Raf Vallone in one of his occasional English speaking films. Maureen Stapleton as his wife and Carol Lawrence as the daughter have, as in most families, a good deal of dysfunction to deal with. The main bone of contention can't be revealed for it would ruin the entire drama. Stapleton has never given a bad performance in film or on Broadway. Raf Vallone's gruff, tough Italian exterior, almost of a lower class, is perhaps the reason he was cast, such an actor absolutely indispensable for this volatile role. There are many unsavoury themes in this film. It's a bit miraculous that in 1961 they were able to deal with issues which are frowned upon even in 2015. It's a tough film to sit through as there is a good deal of unpleasantness... much like the English " Kitchen Sink Dramas " of the 1960's, as they were called, such as SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING or THIS SPORTING LIFE. The reality of life or the human condition, no matter how harsh, was at the heart of these films as it is in A View from the Bridge. Everything else could be almost deemed secondary. The one constant is that the acting was always 1st rate.
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