- Director: Charles Burnett
- AMG Rating:
- Genre: Drama
- Movie Type: Family Drama
- Themes: Faltering Friendships
- Main Cast: Danny Glover, Richard Brooks, Paul Butler, Mary Alice, Carl Lumbly, Sheryl Lee Ralph
- Release Year: 1990
- Country: US
- Run Time: 105 minutes
- MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
African-American drifter Danny Glover shows up at the LA doorstep of his old pal Paul Butler. In the spirit of auld lang syne, Butler takes Glover in, though his wife (Mary Alice) is not happy with this intrusion. She already has enough on her hands contending with her grown live-in son Richard Brooks and his real-estate agent wife Sheryl Lee Ralph. Glover ingratiates himself by reminding family of their Southern roots; less positively, he drinks a great deal, brings suspicious-looking cronies into the household. When Butler suffers a stroke, Glover assumes charge of the house--whereupon his charm evaporates and disaster follows. But Glover isn't really the villain of To Sleep With Anger: everyone in the film is depicted in all-too-human shades of gray. This effort by African American writer/ director Charles Burnett was the first of his films to attract widespread critical notice, almost 13 years after he created the seminal Killer of Sheep. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideReview
The first "commercial" effort by resolutely independent African-American filmmaker Charles Burnett, To Sleep With Anger (1990) continued Burnett's efforts to move beyond black movie stereotypes. A low-key domestic drama involving a comfortably middle-class California family, Burnett's story about a disturbing visit from Danny Glover's quietly malign family friend Harry presents a subtle portrait of intergenerational dynamics that sets the film apart from the incipient early-'90s wave of "New Jack Cinema." Opening old wounds, evoking the power of the Old South heritage, and sparking long-simmering sibling rivalries, Harry's supernatural-tinged sojourn proves to be a lesson in the ongoing uncertainty of life and status. Despite the support and presence of star Glover, coming off the peak of his Lethal Weapon fame, To Sleep With Anger failed to attract audiences, sparking questions about the distributor's desultory efforts in marketing an African-American film that wasn't about youth and violence. Still, To Sleep With Anger remains a key film in the '90s African-American filmmaking renaissance, attesting -- like the work of Spike Lee -- to the range and depth of black experience waiting to be committed to celluloid.~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Cast
- Danny Glover - Harry Mention
- Richard Brooks - Babe Brother
- Paul Butler - Gideon
- Mary Alice - Suzie
- Carl Lumbly - Junior
- Sheryl Lee Ralph - Linda
