Tomorrow (1972)

The Worst Film Ever

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

I had never heard of this movie but love Duvall so recorded it on TCM. I was riveted for the entire movie. The physical aching loneliness of both main characters is something I have never seen or felt from any other movie. It was a tragic but beautiful story. This movie will never leave me. The beautiful scenes between Duvall and the boy showed what pure love really is. I will now read the short story.

Just a wonderful performance by Robert Duvall who dominates the entire film. He reminded me a lot of Boo Radley in TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and though Boo didn't speak, his mannerisms were similar. Duvall's interesting accent struck me as being as much hill-billy as southern.Several minor things troubled me a little about the movie. I did expect Jackson (Duvall) to try to recapture the boy, and I was somewhat surprised by his acceptance of the seizure. The ending also was unexpected.Olga Bellin also did not appear unusually ill for a dying woman in my view either, though she did a nice job with her role. Nonetheless, this was a fine movie and the acting was just superb.

Based on the 1940 story by William Faulkner, Horton Foote's screenplay captures the essence of Faulkner's vision of Deep South in the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction.Robert Duvall delivers an unforgettable performance as Jackson Fentry, a humble farmer leading a hardscrabble life with his father. While serving as a caretaker at a ramshackle saw mill, Fentry unexpectedly finds an exhausted, pregnant woman at his doorstep. After playing the role of good samaritan, Fentry begins to raise the infant child delivered in his makeshift living quarters. A priest arrives and marries the couple. Shortly thereafter, the woman dies, and Fentry devotes his heart and soul to the upbringing of the little boy.The final portion of the film delivers an even greater emotional punch when the boy, named "Jackson Longstreet" after the Southern Civil war generals under whom Fentry's father served. The film's framing device is a murder trial of a man who eventually shot and murdered Jackson Longstreet. The dramatic tension of the ending comes from the selection of Fentry as one of the jurors in the trial.The film brilliantly conveys the world of Faulkner with the unforgettable characters. Sudie Bond is magnificent as the midwife, and Olga Bellin is equally stunning as the pregnant woman seeking to flee from her reprobate husband. The stunning black-and-white cinematography is especially dynamic in the lighting effects, illuminating Bellin's face during her anguished death after childbirth. Above all, the film is worth viewing for Duvall, especially his vocal characterization. It is small wonder that writer Horton Foote and Duvall became virtual soul mates in later films.

Based on a William Faulkner story to be found in the collection Knight's Gambit, possibly his best work written after WWII, Tomorrow is the story of a dull Southern man who falls in love with a pregnant woman whose husband has run away and then raises the child. The script, written by Horton Foote (who won an Oscar for his screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird) is decent, but it straightens out Faulkner's labyrinthine plot (told only in about 14 pages) in such a way that it erases a lot of the emotional complexity. It's so straightforward that it becomes sort of dull after a while. The framing story seems like it is retained in the film because it wouldn't make much sense without it, but it isn't retained very well at all. The film also does not have much of a Faulknerian mood, either. Faulkner's world is a sad place, but it's not cold. The sparse black and white photography in the film is wrong for the mood. It seems very inspired by Carl Th. Dreyer - I'm almost positive of it. Several shots especially reminded me of Day of Wrath and Ordet. However, it all may have worked if not for the performances. Usually when you hear of Tomorrow, you hear how amazing Robert Duvall is in the lead. But for my money, this is easily his worst performance. One of them, anyhow. He displays his emotions well enough through his movements and facial expressions, but, for some unknown reason, he comes up with this way of speaking that is simply grating. It's cartoonish. And you've heard this voice if you've ever seen Billy Bob Thornton's 1996 film Sling Blade - Thornton stole the voice straight from Duvall. It was kind of annoying in Sling Blade, but at least that character was mentally handicapped. Duvall's isn't, but you might think he is. It's an execrable performance. It's also a very stage-bound performance (the adaptation is tertiary, and was a play before it was a film). Olga Bellin, who plays the pregnant woman, is not nearly as bad, but her performance also seems false. She talks endlessly (the character never really appears in the short story), and is very annoying with her affected accent. In fact, even counting the supporting players, I've never seen a film with such affected performances as Tomorrow. The only natural performance in the film is from the young boy, Johnny Mask. Tomorrow is worth a look, especially for Faulkner aficionados, but it is a failure. 6/10.