Giant (1956)

Giant

Medium: Film
Director: George Stevens
Country: United States
Released: 1956
First Consumed: June 28, 2012
Format: Netflix Instant via PS3
Rating: 7.0/10

While George Stevens' Giant serves well as a clinic on how to make a film beautiful, and features three fantastic performances from Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean, it's far from a perfect film.

It's 201 minutes, and feels it. And a lot of those minutes are spent hammering its themes. Racism and a woman's place in the first half of the 1900s. Both these themes end satisfyingly with the arc of Rock hudson's rich, rancher character, but they feel exhausting toward the middle of the film as shepherded by Taylor's character. Taylor gives a good, big performance, but I wasn't in love with the character.

James Dean, whose co-lead performance is more like a string of glorified cameos, is the films savior. When everyone else goes big, he goes small. He mumbles and drinks his way through the film, and it's an absolute delight.