To Sleep with Anger (1990)

To Sleep with Anger (1990)

An old friend wreaks havoc on a household in this searing parable from Charles Burnett

The Very Best

8.0

Movie

United States of America
English
Drama
1990
CHARLES BURNETT
Carl Lumbly, Danny Glover, Davis Roberts
101 min

What it's about

An enigmatic drifter from the South comes to visit an old acquaintance who now lives in South-Central LA.

The take

An old friend shows up on the doorstep of a happy family home and brings a whirlwind of trouble with him. Charles Burnett’s startling parable is tinged with magic and creeping danger. It digs into the tensions between African American folklore of the rural South and the assimilated middle-class lifestyle out West. 

This rift takes the form of Harry, whose disquieting presence throws his old friend Gideon’s Los Angeles home into disarray. Danny Glover is captivating as the devilish visitor, delivering each line with playful ease and simmering menace. Burnett’s sly narrative doesn’t boil down to good and evil but instead offers a layered and enigmatic exploration of identity.

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