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A review by veelaughtland
All My Sons by Arthur Miller
5.0
In the space of two acts, I went from giving this a potential 3 star rating to a 5. Arthur Miller sure knows how to write a play, and the shocks just kept on coming with this one!
Going into this short three act play, I didn't think this would be one that would stick with me like 'The Crucible' did. Act 1 introduced a lot of characters at once, and I found it quite difficult to remember who was who. I found myself constantly flicking back to the character list, just to try to keep myself right. However, with the arrival of Ann, the characters on stage at the same time narrowed, and that was when the plot and character relationships really began to come to the forefront.
I loved the witty dialogue between Joe Keller, his son Chris, and Chris's wife-to-be Ann. It shone out of the page, and seemed very real to me, a loving father joking about a young, budding couple. He came across as a very genuine character, who cared for those around him. Chris and Ann's relationship was enjoyable to read as well, and you could really feel the turmoil of the later events of the play taking its toll on them as well as the other characters around them.
I did not expect any of the twists in this play at all, and they just kept on coming in Acts 2 and 3. I actually found myself staring wide-eyed at the page, and closed the book over with an audible 'Oh my god.' It's been a while since I read a play like that. The final moments of the play were heartbreaking and shocking, and packed a lot of punch.
I would highly recommend this play to anyone who enjoys Arthur Miller's work, or strong dramatic plays in general. This is one that I would absolutely love to see on stage, so fingers crossed a production might come my way at some point!
Going into this short three act play, I didn't think this would be one that would stick with me like 'The Crucible' did. Act 1 introduced a lot of characters at once, and I found it quite difficult to remember who was who. I found myself constantly flicking back to the character list, just to try to keep myself right. However, with the arrival of Ann, the characters on stage at the same time narrowed, and that was when the plot and character relationships really began to come to the forefront.
I loved the witty dialogue between Joe Keller, his son Chris, and Chris's wife-to-be Ann. It shone out of the page, and seemed very real to me, a loving father joking about a young, budding couple. He came across as a very genuine character, who cared for those around him. Chris and Ann's relationship was enjoyable to read as well, and you could really feel the turmoil of the later events of the play taking its toll on them as well as the other characters around them.
I did not expect any of the twists in this play at all, and they just kept on coming in Acts 2 and 3. I actually found myself staring wide-eyed at the page, and closed the book over with an audible 'Oh my god.' It's been a while since I read a play like that. The final moments of the play were heartbreaking and shocking, and packed a lot of punch.
I would highly recommend this play to anyone who enjoys Arthur Miller's work, or strong dramatic plays in general. This is one that I would absolutely love to see on stage, so fingers crossed a production might come my way at some point!