I Never Sang for My Father (1970)

 

I Never Sang for My Father is a serious domestic drama that examines the ways that lingering resentments can be passed from one generation in a family to another. The focus is primarily on the father-son dynamic between Tom Garrison (Melvyn Douglas) and his son Gene (Gene Hackman), and the depth of these roles led to both actors being nominated for Oscars. Tom was abandoned by his father at a  young age, and most of his life has been spent ensuring that he exerted control over his family, perhaps in a misguided attempt to ensure that he was ever-present in their lives. However, unknowingly (maybe), he has just created a son who yearns to break free from his father’s influence and a daughter (played by Estelle Parsons, Hackman’s costar from Bonnie and Clyde) who married and moved halfway across to country to live her own life free from her father’s control. The death of Tom’s wife from a heart attack serves as the catalyst that brings to the surface many long-held resentments among the rest of the family, and the film is rather unsparing in its depictions of the pain that each member has been holding for years. It’s an emotional film that always rings true, and even though the acting styles of the lead performers are quite different from each other, it turns out to be a strength as it reflects a generational difference similar to the one that the film itself reveals. I Never Sang for My Father is primarily a character study that shows the difficult conflicts that can occur between one’s obligations to a parent and one’s obligations to one’s self. It’s small moments that stand out—the two men shopping for a casket or looking at old photographs, for example—and build the film’s emotional resonance. There’s no Hollywood ending here (nor should there be), and the limited use of stylistic flourishes (a few flashbacks and a couple of overhead shots being the two most obvious) keeps the emphasis on the performances and the interactions between the performances.

Oscar Nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Melvyn Douglas), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Gene Hackman), and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium