If you’ve read the internet much — which I’m assuming you do since you’re reading this — you’ve heard of Internet backlash. This is the concept where after years of someone with little context of what this thing meant to the people of the time has seen soemthing they find some weird reason to be contrarion and disagree vehemently with the general consensus. I feel like today may be my time to ole out some backlash against a beloved piece of film.
From Here to Eternity is the Oscar winner from the year 1953 that soared Frank Sinatra as an actor and not just that guy who hummed about New York on stage for people who’d never seen the place. But jokes aside, the film didn’t feel monumental. It felt merely OK.
What surprised me the most as how the film had many plot lines that almost functioned on their own forgetting that there was a whole movie occurring. As Warden (Lancaster) was seducing his boss’ wife, Pruitt (Clift) was being a hard ass trying to be his own man and not box anymore and at the same time he was busy falling in love with a club girl (not sure what the PC term for her real job was at the time) all mixed with the fact that these were all done on an army base where war was ongoing.
Hat actually struck me the most was how little I thought about war while watching this film. Only to have it done right back at me in the last 15 minutes. *spoiler for 50+ year old film* when the Pearl Harbor bombings begin and Japanese planes are overhead causing death and disarray at that very moment I felt sadness, anger and annoyance all together at this movie. It takes what was a simple love story and tries to add importance through its war sentiments which I’m sure at the time managed to help it sell and make everyone feel more awesome. Like how American Sniper did at the beginning of this year.
While I’m making many negative sounds let it not be said that there is not good to be had in this film. From the love of Lancaster and Deborah Kerr on the beach, to Ernest Borgnine appearing surprisingly as the head guard of the stockade that has a few altercations with Sinatra throughout the film. From Here to Eternity has a few cards up its sleeve that it plays well, and I hate to leave walking out of a movie feeling as though it’s reputation ruined it all, but it might’ve happened.