Swot Pinkberrythe Power of Hope Through the Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie, a play originally written by the famous Tennessee Williams in 1944, became the first one of the writer's plays to be transformed into a movie. The movie tells the story of a Mariner named Tom Wingfield as he shares with the audience details of his experience in St. Louis while living with his mentally unstable mother as well as his little sister, Laura. What is interesting is that despite the dramatic events that take place, the movie ends on a positive note, which gives the audience a sense of hope. To explain, the story focuses on Tom's mother's attempt to find someone for her daughter to date, so she turns to Tom for help. Tom then invites a guy from Laura's high school for dinner and at first Laura is extremely nervous until her mother encourages her to relax. The turning point comes when the man asks Laura to dance with him and she accidentally breaks a glass unicorn. This is where she finally realizes that she can be a normal person and does not have to allow her limp to take over her life as now, the unicorn seems to fit in with the horses. Even though in the end things do not work out between Laura and the man, Laura appears to have benefited as she is left feeling empowered. This story surely had a great impact on people since it portrayed a day in the life of an average family suffering from several problems, yet in the end they do not allow their problems to dominate their life and they take control of their personal matters, which reflects a success.

Despite the strong message of the film, two reviews during the time expressed a mixed reaction to its overall quality, including its acting. To begin with, in one review by the New York Times, the reviewer emphasizes that the overall effect of the film is at times lost due to the acting of the mother as well as the film taking comedic turns sometimes. The reviewer believed that the role was not suitable for the actress since the actress was better known for her comedic talents and, therefore, such a dramatic and dynamic role did not seem the best option for her. This causes him to draw the conclusion that at many times, the actress seems to be taking over the screen, and not in a good way, shifting focus from the message of the film to herself. With this being said, the reviewer was satisfied with the acting skills of the individuals who played Tom and Laura. He believed Laura's vulnerability came across almost perfectly while the actor playing Tom was able to express to the audience the difficulties he faces due to his living situation. Evidently, the reviewer believes that the film could have had a much stronger effect if a more suitable actress was chosen to take the role of the mother since the line between a comedy and drama was repeatedly crossed by the actress, causing much confusion.

Another seemingly mixed review was recently published by MSN Movies and offers an important perspective since it takes a look back at the