In exact opposition to the 1984 Ann Margret version, this Streetcar ride starts of a bit jittery but manages to find its footing soon enough. This is especially true , imo, ofJessica Lange's take on Blanche. Not a fanof it at first, especially the stereotypical and annoying breathless thing she does with her voice to convey a lady. She also seems to lack some vulnetability, and I echo the belief , as superficial as it may be, that Lange is a bit..er..big and buxomy for the part, not frail enough, which is needed. However as the film progresses so does she and when the s---t starts hitting the fan, Lange finally starts shinning as she should, and in the last scene she is just tremendous...Lange doesnt play her as berserk and crazy like Ann Margret, but just as a completely broken woman...its heartbreaking.
As far as Stanley, Baldwin is my absolute favorite Stanley (and Ive seen quite a few, Im sort of obsessed with this play) after Brando.Why? He plays up Stanley's humanity....you see his hurt, not just when he thinks Stella might leave him, but his genuine hurt at being looked at as a brainless ape. He's charming and even warm (ish) to Blanche at times..and unlike Brando, even gets that Stanley is just as intimidated and attracted to Blanche as she is to him. This Stan is a fairly nice , decent, blue collar guy driven to uglyness because this woman just pushes the wrong buttons. He's handsome but not the sexual beast that in the Brando version eclipses, wrongly at times, the meaning of the play.
Lane is wonderfull, sweet and well meaning, conflicted and in pain as Stella Goodman as Mitch leaves much to be desired ( as the actor later afmitted himself).
The setting is well done and the best part is Williams play is unadultarated in this version, almost word for word the original play as written. Chose this over the 84 version if you can
