East of Eden (1955)

Cal: I don't want any kind of love anymore. There's no future in it. It doesn't pay off.

I decided to watch this movie after I watched Giant, through James Dean. I knew about James Dean for a while but I had never seen any of his work, I received a book, as a gift, with 100 classic movies, and one of them was Rebel Without A Cause. After seeing that, and knowing a little about James Dean very short and tragic career, I decided to see Giant. This was all about 10 months ago and since then, East of Eden had been sitting here until I decided to watch it tonight.

East of Eden focuses on Cal, short for Caleb Trask, played by James Dean, a young, wild and restless teenager who seems to hate everyone. His brother, Aron, is the only one to appreciate him. Cal means well, but his actions rarely end up well for him and/or his family.

East of Eden is a story about a family, but it is more, it's a story about freedom. The historical background brings a lot to the atmosphere and story line, as the story takes place in 1917 in California, the USA are not yet at war, but with the World War going on, it could happen any day.

I liked: James Dean is stunning and fits the role like a glove. The historical background, not only the war, but also the progress in food conservation. The raw relationships of a family made up of three men.

I disliked: Aron, the brother, his character seemed to go through the motion unexplicably, also he seemed to change overtime but we have no clue why. The nurse, even though it's probably supposed to be that way, I think the character is over-the-top and hardly realistic, especially at such a high point of the movie.

80/100
If you ever enjoyed James Dean or enjoy movies about family relationships, I think this one's for you.