Sounder (1972)

The son of a family of black sharecroppers comes of age in the Depression-era South after his father is imprisoned for stealing food. [imdb]

Nominated for 4 Oscars:

Best Picture

Best Actor: Paul Winfield

Best Actress: Cicely Tyson

Best Adapted Screenplay

I expected this film to be good. If not great, then to deliver a compelling story. I knew little about the subject. But it was surprisingly boring, uneventful, almost naive. The problem is in the screenplay, which doesn't offer a platform for its actors to shine, keeps a strange rhythm and never got me excited about anything.

Much praise has been given to Cicely Tyson for her performance, and I can't quite agree. I felt the maturity of the actress, it's all in the eyes, but then so little on screen (not just the screentime, but her presence inside a scene). Paul Winfield nomination itself is rather difficult to explain.

My rating for the film: 5/10. An unworthy Best Picture nominee in an otherwise landmark year.