Director: Nicholas Ray
Year: 1955
Country: US
Language: English
American Director Nicholas Ray has had an incredible career making such marvelous films as Johnny Guitar, Bigger than Life and Rebel Without A Cause. The first of his films I saw was Bigger Than Life, the great James Mason was as creepy as he has ever been "God Was Wrong!". This film showed me that Ray had tremendous talent and even greater potential. I first saw the critically acclaimed classic Rebel Without A Cause on TCM (Turner Classic Movies) very late at night. I felt it was incredibly well made and I soon found myself pointing out all the scenes in which The Simpsons had parodied.
The film stars the legendary James Dean as Jim Stark, a new kid in town that has trouble seemingly following him wherever he goes. This is why his family seems to be continually moving. In this town he tries to find the love, acceptance and respect he doesn't seem to get from his family. His parents don't quite understand him and the generation gap is quite apparent. Though he feels alienated and isolated, he at least finds some of his want for love in his relation with Judy (Natalie Wood) and in some respect John "Plato" Crawford (Sal Mineo). However Jim finds himself still trying to prove his worth to his adolescent peers whether it be by a dangerous knife fight or a game of "chicken" in which cars race recklessly towards a cliff.
"You're tearing me apart!" James Dean howls which seems to be more of an act of great acting than great character. Indeed, he was a great actor who was expected to have a long and illustrious career, if only his life didn't end prematurely in a car crash a month before this film premiered worldwide. Jim comes from a rocky family with an overbearing mother and a distant father. We get a good sense that his frustration with his parents hit its limit years ago. His voice is the agonized voice of generations before and after him, the adolescent who are expected to make adult decisions all the while being treated like a child. Nicholas Ray's protagonists are usually the American outsider, he is especially sympathetic towards the younger and more vulnerable who look for guidance from an older generation that is just as confused and unhappy as they are.
Infact Jim Stark's need for excitement is as irresponsible and endangering as his parents' refusal to talk about the real important issues that are facing the American family. As a result Start attempts to create an alternative family based on their own experiences in life. Oddly the trio of Jim, Judy and Plato were brought together because of the unneccesary death of a friend and remain united because of idealistic thoughts of "sincerity" and "freedom". Nicholas Ray masterfully paints a portrait of the American Family of the 1950's and the destructive nature of the adolescent mindset during a period in History when Americans were supposed to be at their happiest. Ray's incredible sense of editing, lighting, color, cinematography and performance create show that he truly understood the adolescent experience of the 50's.
In conclusion, though Rebel Without A Cause feels dated, the generation gap exposed by Ray through this film continues to be incredibly relevant and will likely be even more relevant in the far future. The amount of films and television shows that have been influenced by Rebel Without A Cause or have parodied or gave homage to it is staggering, from the hit musical Grease to the long running television shoe The Simpsons. Nicholas Ray is clearly the king of exposing the "nuclear family" of the 1950's. Praise it! 4.5/5
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