A Raisin in the Sun [2008] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

See Larger Image	Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Starring: Paula Boudreau, Alexandra Cheron, Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, Elle Downs, Ron C. Jones Directed By: Kenny Leon Average Customer Rating:


Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Binding: DVD EAN: 0043396249615 Format: AC-3 Label: Sony Pictures Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Sony Pictures Region Code: 1 Release Date: 2008-05-13 Running Time: 131 Studio: Sony Pictures Theatrical Release Date: 2008
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Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Could have been better, very average production. Comment: I bought this film on the strength that Sean Coombs had apparently acted in this and done well on broadway, but what a disappointment, I'm sure the version with Sidney Poitier would have been better although I havent watched it yet but this version is just slightly lack lustre and the actors don't appear to connect to their characters as well as they could have. The story is set in 1950's Chicago and centres around Lena (Phylicia Rashid),her Son Walter (Sean Coombs) his wife Ruth and his sister Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan). Lena's husband died and she is due to receive a life insurance cheque for $10,000. Walter has designs on this money and wants his mother to give it to him to set up his own business, whilst his mother wants to give part to her daugheter to fund her college education and for them to live in a nice home rather than their cramped apartment. Lets get this striaght Coombs is by no way as good an actor as Sidney Poitier and although I haven't seen the other version, I've seen many of Poitier's films. Coombs' acting is stilted and sedated you often see him kind of pause after a dramatic scene and feel that he wants to look at the camera or needs more direction and you don't really get the desperation in why he needs and wants this money. What should have been one of the most explosive scenes involving Walter being given the $10,000 by his mother and what happens to the money after this is so lacklustre that you don't really get the feeling of how much of a blow this is to him! The majority of the film is set in the families cramped apartment and Phylicia Rashid plays her role as the matriarch of the family again reasonably well, you can see in her acting the dilema she has in whether to give the money to her Son and why he needs it to prove himself as a man who can look after and provide for his family. You can also ultimately understand why she does give it to him and the guilt she may have felt if she had not let him try to realise his dream and the affect it would have had on his family . Sanaa Lathan plays her role as the younger sister who wants to progress, become a Doctor and leave the impoverished neighbourhood they live in reasonably well. Her character is meant to be that of a black woman who is not an assimilationist and does not feel that black people should assimilate into white society, but you do not get that sense in her acting, and in the book she is meant to wear her hair as an afro although she does not do that in this film, I think this would have made her pro black non assimilationist stance more believeable. Another strong recurrent theme in the film is racism which is reflected in the low paid jobs each of the family members do but you do not really get enough of the sense of stuggle that the family are going through. This is also reflected when they want to move to a neighbourhood which is predominantly white and they receive a visit from the white neighbourhood representative who wants them to change their minds. This scene could have been played out so well and could have shown the audience the lack of respect the white neighbourhood man had for the family, but instead again the acting let the scene down. Although film may lead you to consider and appreciate how far black people have come, overall it moves at too slow a pace, the acting is average and not riveting enough and most of the scenes leave you wanting to see the original version. More Reviews