1947--Gentleman's Agreement, Elia Kazan

 

1947--Gentleman's Agreement, Elia Kazan
Nominated: The Bishop's Wife, Crossfire, Great Expectations, Miracle on 34th Street
Should have won: Gentleman's Agreement
Be sure to see: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
"That's a statue of Atlas carrying carrying the world on his shoulders," --Phil Green
"No kidding? That's what grandma says you're doing. She says she wishes you'd leave the world alone once in a while."--Tommy Green

   Though To Kill a Mockingbird is widely (and perhaps rightfully so) considered Gregory Peck's best movie, Gentleman's Agreement, fifteen years earlier, is right on par with that classic in its ability to show bigotry toward a selected group; in this case sometimes it is incidental and other times purposeful.

     Phil Green is a writer who is asked to do a piece on antisemitism. He takes on the job but goes the extra mile. For the purpose of an authentic experience, he pretends to be Jewish to see if he is treated any differently. He changes his name from Green to Greenberg and lives his life as a Jew for half a year. His best friend, Dave (who is Jewish) goes along with it and his girlfriend, Kathy, is supportive too but is also taken aback by her thoughts on his being Jewish, and even admits it is wrong for her to care. When she wants to introduce him to her family, many of the family members are suddenly “unable to attend” the get together upon finding out his faith. 

     Though the message of acceptance is a familiar one (like Mockingbird) I liked how this one panned out in different situations. Phil talking to his son about accepting everyone and his son being beaten up at school because his father is Jewish is a touching and frighteningly true scene, but it comes and goes. It didn't seem like it was supposed to be poignant to the plot when, in real life, it probably would be. I was angered just by watching the proceedings of how “Greenberg” was treated once people found out he was Jewish, particularly when he tried to stay in a hotel for the night. 

    He has his secretary send out letters; some as Green and some as Greenberg. In this day and age I wonder how much of a difference that would make. It is an interesting experiment to try though. I wonder how much of the movie would pass today. If it were remade (even loosely) I wonder if a different religion would cause the same uneasiness with people he meets. When a movie of such a serious topic is seen, something comical shouldn't typically be the first thing that comes to mind. But I was reminded of the old “Saturday Night Live” skit where Eddie Murphy spends the day as a white man. Some of his experiences were over the top like white people give other white people things for free or when the final black guy gets off the bus a party ensues. I don't know how much of that would be at least a little true, even beyond the comical purpose. But I also never thought about how members of the Jewish faith had been or, perhaps, still are treated today. The key moment for me was when Kathy reflected on her own reaction when she found he was Jewish felt ashamed. There is an interesting discussion between Kathy and Dave about whether or not it is okay to do nothing when a bigoted joke is told. Maybe what Phil does in this movie would be a good experiment someone should try today. How much has really changed in people's views on the Jewish faith? I have no answer to that.