''To Sleep with Anger'' is a 1990 American

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to disc ...

film written and directed by Charles Burnett. In 2017, the film was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It had a remastered home media release from the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

on February 26, 2019.

Plot

Gideon (Paul Butler) and his wife, Suzie ( Mary Alice), live in South Central Los Angeles, though they retain some of their rural southern ways, including raising chickens in the backyard. Harry (Danny Glover), a longstanding friend from the South whom they have not seen for many years, makes a surprise visit. The couple are delighted to see him and insist that he stay with them for as long as he wishes. Harry has a charming, down-home manner, but his enigmatic and somewhat amoral presence brings to a crisis trouble simmering in the family—especially as regards the younger son, Samuel or "Babe Brother" (

Richard Brooks Richard Brooks (May 18, 1912 – March 11, 1992) was an American screenwriter, film director, novelist and film producer. Nominated for eight Oscars in his career, he was best known for ''Blackboard Jungle'' (1955), ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' ...

), and his relationships with his parents, wife, and older brother, Junior ( Carl Lumbly). Harry's disruptive and even corrupting presence threatens to break up Samuel's marriage and seems to be related to the illness that puts Gideon in bed for a couple of weeks, but is ultimately purgative: Gideon's extended family is more cohesive as a result of Harry's visit. Samuel and Junior struggle over a knife in a climactic fight during a storm, which ends in Suzie sustaining a wound. During a long wait in the emergency room, the storm clears, and the simmering anger that Harry seemed to bring to a boil is also dissipated. Harry's death just before the end of the film suggests, ambiguously, that he has been to a degree a self-sacrificing savior of the family.

Cast

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...

as Harry * Paul Butler as Gideon * Mary Alice as Suzie * Carl Lumbly as Junior * Vonetta McGee as Pat *

as Babe Brother *

Sheryl Lee Ralph Sheryl Lee Ralph OJ is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in the 1977 comedy film '' A Piece of the Action'', before landing the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical '' Dreamgirls'' (1981), for which she received ...

as Linda * DeVaughn Nixon as Sunny * Reina King as Rhonda * Cory Curtis as Skip * Paula Bellamy as Mrs. Baker *

Wonderful Smith Wonderful Smith (June 21, 1911August 28, 2008) was an African-American comedian and actor from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Early and personal life Wonderful Smith was born Floyd Smith in 1911 in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to parents Sam Smith, Sr., a far ...

as Preacher *

Ethel Ayler Ethyl Spraggins Ayler (May 1, 1930 – November 18, 2018) was an American character actress with a career spanning over five decades. Biography Ayler was born in Whistler, Alabama and graduated from Fisk University. In 1957, she made her of ...

as Hattie * Beverly Mickins as Neighbor * Jimmy Witherspoon as Percy *

Julius Harris Julius W. Harris (August 17, 1923 – October 17, 2004) was an American actor who appeared in more than 70 movies and numerous television series in a career that spanned four decades. Harris is best known for his roles in 1970s films such as '' ...

as Herman

Reception

The film has received positive acclaim. As of August 2020, ''To Sleep with Anger'' holds a rating of 88% from 32 reviews with the consensus: "''To Sleep with Anger'' examines cultural tensions with a deft hand and a potent blend of comedy and drama, stirred skillfully to life by a strong cast led by Danny Glover." Chuck Bowen of ''Slant Magazine'' called it a "neglected masterpiece of African-American cinema." ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...

s Brandon Wilson has called it Burnett's "other masterpiece," as well as numerous other favorable comparisons to ''

Killer of Sheep ''Killer of Sheep'' is a 1978 American drama film edited, filmed, written, produced, and directed by Charles Burnett. Shot primarily in 1972 and 1973, it was originally submitted by Burnett to the UCLA School of Film in 1977 as his Master of Fin ...

'', saying "Like all great art, ''To Sleep With Anger'' triumphs because it works both on a personal level... and it is provocative enough thematically to fuel hours of discussion about tradition versus modernity and how it has affected African-Americans, for better or worse... urnetts asking us to think about the generation gap, Christian faith versus backwoods mysticism, the grip of the past versus the pull of the present, African-American yearning for financial prosperity versus our sense of altruism & duty and complications within both sides of each coin."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

, however, called it "too long" in a mixed review (2.5/4). Christopher Null called it "insanely over-rated" and gave it 2/5 stars ("weak"). ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

's'' Owen Glieberman called it "too ambitious" and said it "never finds a mood".

Accolades

References

External links

* * * *
''To Sleep with Anger: You Never Know What’s in the Heart''
an essay by Ashley Clark at the

{{Charles Burnett 1990 films 1990 comedy-drama films 1990 independent films African-American comedy-drama films American independent films 1990s English-language films Films directed by Charles Burnett (director) Films scored by Stephen James Taylor Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles United States National Film Registry films 1990s American films