The Island Cinephile

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof: An Exhilarating Watch

“I’ve got the guts to die. What I want to know is, have you got the guts to live?”

Harvey ‘Big Daddy’ Pollitt

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a name truly befitting for the raw intensity of this film. Based on Tennesse Williams’ successful play titled the same, James Poe and Richard Brooks crafts a functional screenplay. Set in the scorching Mississippi south during the Antebellum Era, we are introduced to Brick Pollitt. Under the heavy influence of alcohol, he drowns his problems all whilst wrestling with his wife and subsequently his family. Maggie Pollitt, also referred to as Maggie “the Cat” is inquisitive to an immovable Brick who seems to take no interest in her for reasons we are not privy to. They find themselves on the Pollitt Plantation for Harvey “Big Daddy” Pollitt’s 65th birthday. This is evidently a point of contention as Brick and Maggie are antagonized by his brother and his wife, along with the domineering presence of his sharkish father.

Everything from the sharp yet witty dialogue, to the environment which takes place in the southern heat proves to be one big explosion. Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor possessed amazing chemistry as a couple facing serious marital challenges. Burl Ives and Paul Newman’s dynamics were a notch above the rest as the tensions arose. The characterization is outstanding, and the development of the storyline was paced extremely well. It’s cinematography holds up well today, and the use of symbolism throughout was subtle and not overly done. I truly enjoyed the stylistic choices made within the film and the actors themselves for improving such great material such as the work of Tennessee Williams.

Watch trailer for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.