“Death of a Salesman” is hard to pull off on film, but the talent assembled for this latest attempt is sure to turn some heads.
Focus Features and Spielberg’s Amblin have locked in director Chinonye Chukwu (“Till”) to helm Arthur Miller’s classic. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (“Munich,” “Lincoln”) will write the screenplay.
Furthermore, leading the cast are Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”), stepping into the legendary role of Willy Loman, and Octavia Spencer (“The Help”) as Linda Loman.
This modern spin on “Death of a Salesman” could be very compelling, and with Kushner scripting, audiences can expect a well-written screenplay. Wright is also a remarkable actor, Spencer is always engaging to watch, and Chukwu has already shown great promise with her first two films. There’s significant potential here.
Miller’s iconic 1949 play, which won the Pulitzer Prize and ran for 742 performances on Broadway, tells the story of aging salesman Willy Loman, a man wrestling with failed priorities and a complicated family life, while exploring enduring themes of infidelity, truth, and the elusive American Dream.
There is yet to be a widely acknowledged, iconic, or universally praised cinematic version of “Death of a Salesman,” That’s not for a lack of trying. The story has been adapted multiple times, but none have reached the status of a “definitive” film classic on the level of, say, “A Streetcar Named Desire” or “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Maybe this one will finally nail the tone of Miller’s timeless classic, or it could turn out to be yet another bust.