The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1968)

TCM recently had a salute to Alan Arkin and showed some movies featuring his work over the years.Lately, Arkin is best known as the sly movie director who helped free Iranian hostages in "Argo," or the foul-mouthed junkie grandfather in "Little Miss Sunshine." He also played the deaf-mute man in "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" back in 1968, the character of John Singer.Now that may not have been a great film back in 1968, but I consider it a great film in 2015. It's not great as in it's perfect, because it's not. Far from it, in fact. Technically, there are many glitches that will make movie aficionados cringe, but without question it is a haunting, quirky tale deftly played...and you will think about for days.The original story was written in 1940 about life in Georgia in 1933. It was both sad and telling that little had changed there between 1933 and 1968.There are subtle allusions to drug addiction and homosexuality, which the viewer is welcome to read into the subtext or ignore. There is nothing subtle about the blatant racism still alive and well at that time.Probably the most amazing thing is how closely the viewer will identify with the complex challenges Singer faced every day, faced with integrity, patience, and compassion...and yet...he never uttered a single word.This is "big picture" commentary on the human condition as it was then and, perhaps, as it will be for many years to come.

Alan Arkin stars in what may be his finest hour on screen, playing a deaf mute in a small Georgia town who befriends the daughter of his boarder (Sondra Locke), a young girl just coming of age. Thomas C. Ryan adapted the novel by Carson McCullers, and his passages with these two sensitive, interesting people forms the lovely centerpiece of the picture. Director Robert Ellis Miller handles Arkin and Locke just right, but unfortunately there's a subplot shoehorned in about racial tensions in the town which plays like irrational soap opera (and just gets in the way). Miller's finale feels truncated, chopped short, so that the feelings we have for the characters are not quite resolved, and the heart of the story doesn't completely reach us. Nevertheless, many lovely sequences; simple, perceptive and sympathetic. *** from ****

This film is powerful, sensitive, meaningful and memorable once you watch it. I have it on tape, and usually if I get to pick a film, I pick one that makes me laugh, not one that tells me a story about real life. At my age, I don't need that. Carson Mc Cullers as a writer can find the depths of a character's soul, and the film captures most of her talent. If you are looking for a remarkable film, this is one of the best. But I would suggest that the best place to find something serious can be found in a novel, written by an artist and not a hack turning out pulp fiction. A film unfortunately is restricted to roughly two hours, and thus at best can only be a short story. A single short story, to my knowledge has never won a noble prize for literature. The cinema has an art advantage no other art form has, except for the restriction of time limited to the limits of the human body to sit for more than two hours. A book, you can always put down, and return at your leisure.

Reading the book is giving me an incredible introduction to the substance of the story. I am seeing some profound insights to individuals that gives understanding to people I know. Especially religious people are portrayed so I understand the religious mind so much better. One element of the movie that is missing in the reviews I've read so far is the musical score. Composed by Dave Grusin the theme sends a chill into my psyche when I hear it years after viewing the movie. Mick seems to be a surprisingly deep person; considering her environment. Her love of classical music exposes a mind that rises well above her simple life. This is the nature of genius and is probably part of Carson McCuller's own persona. I would believe she writes from memories of her own childhood.