To Sleep with Anger (1990)

Directed by Charles Burnett. Starring Mary Alice, Paul Butler, Danny Glover, Carl Lumbly, Vonetta McGee, Richard Brooks, DeVaughn Nixon, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Reina King. [PG]

Glover’s oily, wayward charmer stirs the pot as a long-term guest in the household of a contented African-American family in California, corrupting their souls and severing the ties that bind until simmering resentments threaten to boil over. Symbol-heavy parable boosted by effective performances, especially Alice’s patient yet morose matriarch and Glover’s smiling devil. Heritage and cultural contrasts play into the story’s themes, and although the suggested folkloric “mysticism” inspiring the growing unrest and divisions is hard to embrace, the universal family experiences and woozy ambiguities give it legs in the aftermath. Glover co-executive produced.

71/100