The movie, "East of Eden," is a masterpiece of acting, cinematography and directing. The best way to describe this film is that it's heartbreaking, dark, and touching. This astonishing film stars James Dean (Cal Trask), Julie Harris (Abra), Raymond Massey (Adam Trask), Richard Davalos (Aron Trask), and Kate (Jo Van Fleet). East of Eden was released on March 9, 1955 by Warner Brothers. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and the screenplay was done by Paul Osborn. The film earned a total of 5 million dollars at the box office. The film and its actors, including the director Elia Kazan were nominated and won respectable awards like the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and BAFTA Awards.
The story is set during 1917 and 1918, leading into American involvement in World War I, in the central California coastal towns of Monterey and Salinas. The film begins with Cal Trask in search in of supposed dead mother Kate. Throughout the film it becomes evident that Cal is in competition with his older brother Aaron for the love of their deeply religious father Adam. Cal does everything and anything to try to get the love that his father has denied him for years, even if it means he has hurt own brother. Paul Osborn's film adaption of the story East of Eden was sensational and entertaining. It was interesting to see how the biblical story of Cain and Abel was represented by Cal and Aron. One the most intense scenes that depicts the biblical story was when Cal purposely takes his brother Aaron to meet their supposed dead mother Kate. In realizing his mother was no angel like his father made it out to be, Aron is driven to madness, which leads him to sin and he enlists in the war he highly opposed of. In a sense Cal managed to kill the good that was in Aron.
The most notable performance of the film was James Dean. James Dean portrays Cal Trask a lonely, troublesome, jealous, and crazy boy or as he refers to himself in the film "The Bad One".