To Sleep with Anger (1990)

A charismatic old acquaintance drifts into town, stirring up trouble for a mild-mannered family.

Director:

Charles Burnett

Writer:

Charles Burnett

Stars:

Danny Glover, Paul Butler, DeVaughn Nixon

7 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Butler	...	Gideon
DeVaughn Nixon	...	Sunny (as Devaughn Walter Nixon)
Mary Alice	...	Suzie
Reina King	...	Rhonda
Cory Curtis	...	Skip
Richard Brooks	...	Babe Brother
Sheryl Lee Ralph	...	Linda
Carl Lumbly	...	Junior
Vonetta McGee	...	Pat
Paula Bellamy	...	Mrs. Baker
Danny Glover	...	Harry
Wonderful Smith	...	Preacher
Ethel Ayler	...	Hattie
DeForest Covan	...	Fred Jenkins (as DeForest Coven)
Sy Richardson	...	Slash

Storyline

Harry Mention, an enigmatic drifter from the South, comes to visit an old acquaintance named Gideon, 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 eff...

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | uninvited guest | middle class | los angeles california | garden | 

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Taglines:

When Harry comes to town, he brings good times, bad times... And a lot of trouble!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

film society lincoln center screenings

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

To Sleep with Anger

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,295, 14 October 1990

Gross USA:

$1,161,135

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,161,135

Company Credits

Production Co:

SVS Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Harry: Ya, but you can't do the shuffle with one leg. You and your wife, in fortunate. Now I'm not talking about you and what you do but some folks that always run to help the victim, deep down are attracted to pain and suffering and love to be near the dying.
Junior: All the people working with us are really doing it 'cause they hate to see suffering.
Harry: You never know what's in the heart and just because you can cry doesn't make you human.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Congo/The Glass Shield/Pocahontas/Fluke (1995)

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Soundtracks

Annie Mae's Cafe
Performed by Little Milton (as Little Milton Campbell)
Written by Larry Addison and George Jackson
Courtesy of MALACO Records
Published by Malaco Music BMI

User Reviews

...then the last preacher said, "My sin is the worst of all".

Maybe it was the bizarre photo of a smirking, card-holding Danny Glover that always gave me the wrong impression of this film. I'm not entirely sure what I expected it to be, but I'm relatively certain I wasn't expecting a quiet family drama.

Writer/director Charles Burnett doesn't reach hard for big statements. The film appears to take place in the 1950s-60s (I couldn't be sure), but the time period isn't chosen out of a desire to create a plot focused on race relations. In fact, the drama is entirely centered around a single small family, and a wild friend from way in the past (Harry, played by Danny Glover). Cinematographer Walt Lloyd creates a familiar environment, whether or not it happens to be personally familiar to the viewer. Everything feels warm and slightly worn, including personalities and ways of speaking.

Although my personal family history couldn't be more different than the family depicted in this film, the character of Samuel "Babe Brother" (Richard Brooks) really hit home for me. His attitude on life and relationship with his father mirrors my own all too closely. It's the honestly of character depiction and interaction that brings out so much truth from Charles Burnett's writing. Everything comes together to make a perfectly realized story of absolute truth. This may just be a great film.