Movie, 1967

A rather dated film exploring racial tensions in a liberal family, which feels very much like a one-location play adapted for film suing a flat, linear approach to its characters and their issues. Ultimately, there’s a happy ending and a resolution which you can see coming a mile off. Quite effective and moving for it though. The real interest is in race and its social positioning: white successful; black largely subservient, but with some evidence of social advancement in the Poitier character. You’d wonder how the story would play out if such prestige wasn’t conferred. That’s one of the tensions watching the film; the other is how much back sliding, now we’re in 2019, we’re embarking upon and how much closer we’re coming to the scenarios of the film being revitalised.