To Sleep With Anger (1990)

Synopsis: Charles Burnett's beautiful, poetic masterpiece is novelistic in its narrative density and richness of characterization. Harry Mention (Danny Glover), an enigmatic drifter from the South, comes to... Charles Burnett's beautiful, poetic masterpiece is novelistic in its narrative density and richness of characterization. Harry Mention (Danny Glover), an enigmatic drifter from the South, comes to visit an old acquaintance named Gideon (Paul Butler), who now lives in South-Central Los Angeles. Harry's charming, down-home manner hides a malicious penchant for stirring up trouble, and he exerts a strange and powerful effect on Gideon and his thoroughly assimilated black, middle-class family, including wife Suzie (Mary Alice) and sons Junior (Carl Lumbly) and Babe (Richard Brooks). The household was already rife with conflict when the devilish guest arrived, and Harry's grab bag of folktales, lucky charms, and foul magic only deepens the family rift. Sickness and insanity gradually descend upon Gideon's home, and it soon becomes evident that something will have to give. Burnett, who gained prominence with his groundbreaking 1977 film KILLER OF SHEEP, proves with this powerful drama that his earlier effort was no fluke. He paces his film extremely slowly, to the point where subtle throwaway gestures contribute to the film's thickening tension. Glover, known more for his sympathetic performances, is a perfect Harry, an individual so contradictory that he becomes even more of a hidden devil. [More]

Starring: Danny Glover, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, Sheryl Lee Ralph

Starring: Danny Glover, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Carl Lumbly, Richard Brooks, Vonetta McGee, Sy Richardson, Regina King

Director: Charles Burnett

Director: Charles Burnett
Screenwriter: Charles Burnett
Producer: Caldecot Chubb, Thomas Byrnes, Darin Scott

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