Suffering from a bankruptcy, Bark and Lucy Cooper, an old couple that lives alone and loses their house, so they have to separate and each one lives with a son, the thing that challenges them, as their sons can't afford to host them a long, as they feel hurt and disable.
Hollywood melodramas do not often compare to timeless masterpieces of world cinema, but this does, largely through McCarey's sophisticated blend of tragic pathos, psychological insight, and rich, knowing humor.
Make Way eulogizes humanity so well that it's as painful as it is beautiful.
Under the Radar
May 13, 2015
Many scenes in Make Way For Tomorrow are very uncomfortable to sit through ... What prevents the movie from being totally unendurable is the tenderness in the lead performances.
Let's just say that, in calling Make Way for Tomorrow a masterpiece, we'll also call it a dear movie, a wonderful movie, a refreshing movie, or an honest movie. Maybe those terms will make it a bit more appealing.
All of this leads to an ending that is not just the most moving thing McCarey ever fashioned, but may just be the moving thing anyone ever committed to film.
As brutal in its own way as any gangster or slasher flick, Make Way for Tomorrow is a powerful drama that absolutely refuses to pull its punches or take any prisoners.
