When she steps through the door, the stage begins glacially rotating.
Short of allowing us to join the characters on stage, the technique is astonishingly immersive.
And what follows, of course, is the dazzling three-hour death march of Williams most famous drama.
Credit: Teddy Wolff
Here, as in many subsequent versions of the play, Blanche is the focus of our sympathy.
And that allows the transcendence and meaning of Andersons performance as Blanche to dominate.
No one was as tender and trusting as she was, Stella tells Stanley at one point.
And people like you forced her to change.
And Anderson gives abundant life to that line.
But Anderson knows that Blanche was once the smartest person in the room.
She delivers the famous Hes an ape!
(Leigh was 35 when she appeared in the movie.)
