In This Our Life

The Timberlake family has two daughters. Stanley is selfish, spoiled and used to getting what she wants. Roy is calm and dutiful. Just before her wedding Stanley runs off with her sister's husband. The man she leaves behind is her former fiancé, and he in turn moves toward Roy. Stanley comes back after a while. Driving drunk she hits a child and puts the blame on a young Black man who works for her family. He wants to study law. This is John Huston's second film, adapted from Ellen Glasgow's Pulitzer-winning novel. The narrative is built as melodrama but contains a passage extremely unusual for its time: the Black character is written not as a type but as a person with his own aims, and racism is shown directly. Bette Davis plays Stanley and Olivia de Havilland plays Roy. Who it's for: Viewers who like classic Hollywood melodrama, Bette Davis, and films carrying criticism of their period. Who it's not for: Stanley is written as one-dimensionally bad and the narrative gives her no explanation. The ending is also rushed.