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| Paul Butler and Danny Glover in To Sleep With Anger |
Cast: Danny Glover, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, Richard Brooks, Carl Lumbly, DeVaughn Nixon, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Vonetta McGee, Ethel Ayler, Reina King, Cory Curtis, Paula Bellamy, Wonderful Smith, Sy Richardson, Davis Roberts, John Hawker, Julius Harris. Screenplay: Charles Burnett. Cinematography: Walt Lloyd. Production design: Penny Barrett. Film editing: Nancy Richardson. Music: Stephen James Taylor.
The conventional interpretation of Charles Burnett's To Sleep With Anger is that the character of Harry, played by Danny Glover, is the devil. But remember Rilke's assertion that "every angel is terrible." The film begins with an image of endurance, a man being enveloped but not consumed by flames. It ends with an instance of persistence, an amateur trumpet player whose discordant notes segue into a triumphant harmony. Remember, too, that it's Harry who points out that however much the young trumpeter's practice may annoy the neighbors, if he continues with it he may become a real musician. Harry brings mischief and misfortune to the South Central LA family and their friends, but he leaves them wiser and more harmonious. He brings the refining fire, the resolution to discord. He stirs memories of the Southern past -- the discrimination and abuse, but also the pleasure-seeking and lawlessness -- that spurred the Black diaspora, but by reminding them of it he enables them to move on with their lives more assuredly. Burnett's morality tale is never so didactic: Its strength lies in its ambiguities. It falters occasionally in narrative ellipses and by being a bit overcrowded with characters, but it fully earns the praise it has gained over the years since its somewhat inept release and marketing.
