Boy Is It Hot In Here

"In the Heat of the Night"

1967 was a big year for actor Sidney Poitier.  He starred in two racial tension heavy films.  The first was Stanley Kramer's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and the second was Norman Jewison's In the Heat of the Night.  Poitier gives powerfully unforgettable performances in both pictures.  Their stories are quite different from each other but both films deal with the same subject matter.  The latter film deals with racism on a broader societal scale leaving a deeper impact from the issues dealt with on screen.

The time is 1966.  The place is Sparta, Mississippi.  The weather is hot and humid much like the folks of Sparta.  A big time factory owner has just been found murdered.  Police Chief Gillespie (Rod Steiger) and his inept department reluctantly authorize Philadelphia homicide specialist Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) to conduct an investigation to solve the case.  Gillespie keeps Tibbs on a short leash in regards to the safety of both of their lives.  Tibbs is a man on a mission and won't let anyone get in his way even if it means risking his own life.  There's only so much Gillespie can do to keep the local yokels at bay before the town reaches its boiling point. 

Poitier and Steiger each give powerhouse performances.  Every scene with the two of them together is convincing, dynamic, electrifying, and influential.  To see these two actors go head to head with each other is really something to watch.  Gillespie and Tibbs' characters are so richly engrossing with so many complexities about them that we really get a sense of who these men are and where they're coming from given their polar personalities.

The screenplay adapted from the novel of the same name does a fine job of weaving important civil rights issues in and out throughout the overlaying murder mystery plot.  Writing this is tricky because the film clearly has a socially conscious agenda.  However In the Heat of the Night never comes off as egotistic or imposing to its audience.  The film deals with a very real and ugly time period that took place in America.  In the Heat of the Night addresses these weighing issues in such a manner that are both emotionally enthralling and socially perceptive.

Jewison's direction is masterful.  The gravity of each scene is perfectly balanced by Poitier and Steiger's performances and Hal Ashby's editing.  Tension is constantly high throughout the film.  Many scenes have a theatrical quality about them by limiting the camera movement and letting the actors carry us through each confrontation with their rousing performances.  There's nothing fancy or flashy about the aesthetics of this film.  This is old school filmmaking at its best.  Jewison's understanding of the material from the solid screenplay and strong performances he gets from his actors in order to achieve the final on screen result is something exceptional to view.

In the Heat of the Night is of a certain caliber of filmmaking that is seldom seen nowadays.  This is the kind of film that raises awareness without being preachy and self-righteous.  The picture works on so many levels thematically and cinematically it's hard not to feel affected afterwards.  It brings up thought provoking issues because it's a thought provoking film that changed cinema for years to come.  Be sure to leave your sweaters behind for this film, In the Heat of the Night turns up the thermostat and will leave you sweltering from its radiating heat.