As much as I hated the original 1959 version of Suddenly, Last Summer, I didn't really like the 1993 tv movie much better. Maggie Smith was very good, putting far more into her performance and her character than Katharine Hepburn did (Don't throw anything at me; Kate wasn't always perfect), but Natasha Richardson didn't seem to understand the play. Perhaps she was trying to put the wrong emotions into her scenes to show that electro-shock therapy has damaged her brain, but perhaps she just gave a sub-par performance. She shouted when there was nothing to shout about, and she talked in monotone when she was describing something truly horrifying.
But if you're a Maggie Smith fan and you're tired of seeing her in "stiff upper lip" roles, you can check her out in this live performance. She truly makes the most of the script and reminds everyone that before she was famous for playing crotchety old ladies, she was a great professional thespian. Make sure you can stomach this very disturbing Tennessee Williams story, though. I may love The Glass Menagerie, but this story and the characters leave me cold. If you like it, you'll see Rob Lowe in the Dr. Sugar role, and Richard E. Grant and Moira Redmond as Natasha's family.
But if you're a Maggie Smith fan and you're tired of seeing her in "stiff upper lip" roles, you can check her out in this live performance. She truly makes the most of the script and reminds everyone that before she was famous for playing crotchety old ladies, she was a great professional thespian. Make sure you can stomach this very disturbing Tennessee Williams story, though. I may love The Glass Menagerie, but this story and the characters leave me cold. If you like it, you'll see Rob Lowe in the Dr. Sugar role, and Richard E. Grant and Moira Redmond as Natasha's family.