Growing up is difficult at any age. It is much harder when the general society is openly against you. Sounder, based on the young adult novel, is a deeply moving adaptation. Standout performances from both the adult and child actors and a relatable story elevate Sounder to being a solid film for all generations.
Life is hard all around for everyone in 1933's Louisiana. For the Morgan family, it is harder. The Morgans are sharecroppers who scrape by season through season. However, what they do not have in terms of financial wealth is made up for with a wealth of love. Patriarch Nathan Lee Morgan (Paul Winfield) works hard and plays hard. Baseball, that is, with an incredible pitching arm. Mother Rebecca (Cicely Tyson) watches over their three children. The oldest, David Lee (Kevin Hooks) does go to school. However, he has to sit at the back of the class due to his race.
The Morgans are a strong family unit, struggling but loving. The family has six members: two parents, three children and their beloved dog, Sounder. Along with the sharecropping, Rebecca makes extra income by washing clothes for Mrs. Boatwright (Carmen Matthews) who lives in town. Things seem to be getting better when Nathan manages to bring meat for the family. It soon becomes clear how he got that meat. Sheriff Young (James Best) has to arrest him. Nathan is sentenced to one year at a labor camp.
Sheriff Young cannot or will not divulge which camp Nathan is going to. Mrs. Boatwright does manage to get the name of the camp. With that, David and Sounder set off to make contact. On that journey, David encounters a school made up of black students, complete with a black teacher. Miss Camille Johnson (Janet MacLachlan) welcomes David into her class and home. She also gives Nathan, a voracious reader already, nonfiction books. Alongside his beloved Three Musketeers, a gift from Mrs. Boatwright, there are biographies of Harriet Tubman and The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois. Will David make contact with Nathan? Will Nathan return to his wife and children? Will David return to Miss Johnson's school or follow in the sharecropping ways?
Sounder focuses on an African American family in the early half of the twentieth century. However, its story of love and familial bonds is a universal one. I was reminded of Coal Miner's Daughter in how a loving and united family can be a greater resource than mere money. Sounder does not shy away from the hardships of the Morgans. It also does something that is sadly still rare in many films: present a family with strong parents and obedient children. Sounder is a very languid film, with a steady pace throughout. It never rushes. It never builds up to big dramatic moments. Instead, it moves at an almost quiet pace.
This quiet allows the viewer to know all the characters, with their virtues and their flaws. We see Nathan and Rebecca as loving and protective. They are deeply committed to each other and their children. A particularly effective moment is when the children find meat for breakfast. Nathan, David and Sounder had all failed to catch a racoon. How exactly Nathan managed to find meat is understood by Rebecca but not the children. Paul Winfield and Cicely Tyson look at each other, and their glances tell us everything.
It is all but impossible to not be moved when Nathan returns. As Sounder barks at someone coming down the road, we see the growing figure. Rebecca recognizes him and rushes to his side. In this reunion, I think there would not be a dry eye in the house.
Winfield has his best moment at the end. He is first jolly, then somewhat enraged that David wants to stay with the family rather than go to school. Eventually, father and son talk. It is clear that Nathan knows that David has a greater opportunity by moving than by staying. He explains this in a loving way that the young David can understand. It is a wonderful moment not just of acting. It is a wonderful moment of fatherly love.
Young Kevin Hooks was also excellent as David Lee Morgan. Sounder is really about him and his evolution to a greater knowledge of the world around him. He works well with the adult cast, which is no small feat given the caliber of talent in the film. Special mention should also go to Janet MacLachlan as Miss Johnson. She, like Tyson, gives her character grace and strength. It is almost as if they represent different sides of the same coin. Tyson's Rebecca and MacLachlan's Camille both cared about David. All their actions were motivated by their concern. One was educated and one was not. However, they both were strong women.
Blues legend Taj Mahal, who has a small role as wandering musician Ike, wrote Sounder's score. It is surprising that Mahal was not singled out for Academy Award consideration. Sounder received four nominations: Picture, Lead Actor and Actress and Lonne Elder III's adaptation of William H. Armstrong's novel. The blues-tinged score and Martin Ritt's able and firm direction were oddly left out.
Sounder is a love letter to the strength of family. It is also an ode to the power of education to have us rise. Heartfelt performances and the universal themes of familial love elevate Sounder to be a deeply moving film.
