81. Look Back In Anger; movie review

LOOK BACK IN ANGER
Cert PG
98 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild sex references, language and emotionally intense scenes

Was Richard Burton as constantly furious as he seems on screen?
In Tony Richardson's Look Back In Anger, his character is absolutely foul and yet is a magnet to very attractive women.
What is the lure? Maybe his handsomeness, maybe his erudite articulation, maybe his trumpet-playing.
But surely, they can't compensate for the verbal and physical savagery?
Burton plays the objectionable Jimmy Porter with great power both in the projection and precision of his voice and literally by throwing his weight around.
In all regards, he appears to be much older than the 25-year-old character he is portraying.
Jimmy is a jazz trumpeter by night and market smallholder by day. He is permanently aggressive except when in the presence of his mentor (Edith Evans).
He picks on the feeble in the shape of his wife (writer John Osborne's spouse, Mary Ure) and the market inspector (Donald Pleasance) but stands up for those who are being unfairly attacked as is demonstrated by his defence of an Indian immigrant (S.P. Kapoor).
Those who don't fit into any of the boxes are his best friend (Gary Raymond) and his wife's prickly pal (Claire Bloom).
Look Back In Anger is a ping back to my childhood - traffic-free streets, kids with dirty faces wearing shorts, packed markets and the hubbub coming from the pub.
On the downside, it was a time when men were men and women had to do what they were told.
Jimmy's anger, particularly in drink, will be familiar to anyone who lived at the time - and, in Burton's case, I suspect it wasn't all acting.
But the element which really stood out for me was the language. Burton's character uses English like a pistol. It is far more effective than the machine-gun of profanities which volley across cinema auditoriums nowadays.

Reasons to watch: A typically dominant performance by Richard Burtion
Reasons to avoid: The incessant shouting

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 8/10

Director quote - Tony Richardson: "The films I make are about the world we are living in, films that are part of the world and I think this is the sort of thing that film does best."

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