Review: Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962)

IMDb Synopsis: Author Eugene O'Neill gives an autobiographical account of his explosive homelife, fused by a drug-addicted mother, a father who wallows in drink after realizing he is no longer a famous actor and an older brother who is emotionally unstable and a misfit. The family is reflected by the youngest son, who is a sensitive and aspiring writer.


I don't even know how to start this review. I watched Long Day's Journey Into Night yesterday afternoon, and the only word I can think of to describe it is "Wow"- a film hasn't impressed this much since Judgment at Nuremberg.


Sidney Lumet and Katharine Hepburn really complete the film. I was completely blown away with Hepburn's captivating performance- if that's not superb acting, then I don't know what is (which she's the greatest actress of all time, so I'm not at all surprised). The same goes for Ralph Richardson, Jason Robards and Dean Stockwell, who all give quite impressive performances as well. This is one of the films where the whole main cast deserved Oscar nods.


One of my favorite directors as of late is Sidney Lumet (also known as the man behind masterpieces like 12 Angry Men and Fail Safe). I find his camera shots and cinematography to differ from other directors of the era, which brings a lot of depth to his films. I haven't read Eugene O'Neill's play yet, but I'm definitely going to now.


I can't enforce this enough: if you haven't seen Long Day's Journey Into Night yet, please do yourself a favor and change that.

5/5 stars