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Lapsed-Catholic, Irish-American family living on lakefront Connecticut estate in the 1900s comes apart at the seams: patriarch Ralph Richardson harbors great disappointment in his two grown sons (one growing ill with consumption), and his relationship with deluded, delusional, drug-addicted wife Katharine Hepburn has taken its toll as well. Autobiographical play by Eugene O'Neill can hardly be faulted; it's an American classic on the stage, full of pain and rage and melancholy. Yet the one thing it does lack is a self-effacing sense of humor--anything light or even sarcastic to help the audience wade through the intricacies of this family's strangled tapestry. The play has been preserved intact by filmmaker Sidney Lumet, with every hurtful pause and regretful remark frozen on film. With so many sequences heavy with remorse and pain, the nearly three-hour running time becomes something of a chore. The performances are mostly solid (though I did tire of Jason Robards' constant, disapproving braying), but the handling is all on one note; nothing is toyed with so there are no nuances or revelations. It's all been laid out very carefully, but some may feel it difficult staying with these characters for such a long period. ** from ****
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