Mary (Katharine Hepburn) and James Tyrone (Ralph Richardson) live with their adult sons Jamie (Jason Robards) and Edmund (Dean Stockwell). Their idyllic upper middle class facade hides alcohol and drug addictions by every member of this dysfunctional loving family. They pick at each other over the course of a day.

Director Sidney Lumet puts a camera to this Eugene O'Neill play. These are some of the best ever movie actors doing some compelling work. They are firing off lines like sharp shooters with long range rifles. Nobody is missing a beat. Everybody is brilliant. However, that doesn't make it a compelling cinematic experience. Lumet keeps the play intact which limits its appeal. It becomes more of an act of endurance to stay engage with this family. Its single-minded tone really pushes the audience. Some may find familiarity with this unrelenting onslaught. Others may find comfort in simply walking away.

While it's hard to argue that "Long Day's Journey Into Night" is not a great play, it's also a very difficult production to watch--at least for me. O'Neill himself intended that no one would ever see the play for 25 years--and he left this instruction CLEARLY in his will (which has nevertheless ignored and published just a few years after his death). It's obvious he was writing the piece more as a form of self-therapy--writing about the demons of his youth. The characters in the play, despite name changes, were his parents, his brother and himself--with all their MANY, MANY sick problems. Like the characters in the play, they were struggling with addiction, mental illness and LOTS of co-dependence.

The problem for me was that I simply didn't like watching so much sickness and dysfunction. I was a social worker and psychotherapist for many years and saw too much over the years--so much it practically tore me to pieces. So, because of my background, I had a horrible time watching it because I just don't want to see what I know is true of many folks. Sure, the play rings very true--but I can't stand watching a show that makes "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" look like a comedy!! So, yes, it is insightful and raw...but too raw for me. I have seen so much illness and sadness and dysfunction that I started to find myself tuning it out after a while. Life is just too short for me to watch this. This is a rare case when I cannot give a film a bad score (it is brilliant in many ways) but I also hated it. Perhaps you will find it more watchable.

By the way, if you do watch the film, one thing to note is that in an oddly ironic twist, having Katharine Hepburn play in this film was very strange. After all, she lived with Spencer Tracy for many years and he was, at times, an incredibly vicious and angry alcoholic and must have used some of the same crazy coping strategies that the folks used in this film to deal with addiction.

Eugene O'Neill's (one of America's finest playwrights, up there with Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller) 'Long Day's Journey into Night' is a hugely powerful work and one of the greats of the 20th century. Being indeed masterful in character writing and character development and the emotion that pulsates throughout is intense and moving. The first act though may test the patience of first time viewers, with its deliberate pace and heavier emphasis on character and words than plot.

This 1962 film adaptation of 'Long Day's Journey into Night' directed by the great Sidney Lumet ('12 Angry Men', 'Network') couldn't have adapted it more perfectly. Managing to be very loyal in detail and spirit to the play without being overly faithful. As far as stage play to film adaptations go, 'Long Day's Journey into Night' to me is one of the finest, it does help that the material is so good, that it is directed by a legendary director and has a fine cast and it is a wonderful high quality film on its own terms. It is very likely to resonate with those who has, or has had, addictions, dysfunctional family relationships or experienced mental health issues either as a suffer or therapist.

'Long Day's Journey into Night' is beautifully filmed for one thing, being expansive enough to not feel too much like a filmed stage play or too claustrophobic (dangers with plays adapted to film),as well as designed with a good appealing on the eyes sense of period. It is directed with a sympathetic and no-nonsense approach by Lumet, who also gives the drama a subtle tension and a searing and not overdone passion. Andre Previn's music is used sparsely but is subtly atmospheric.

O'Neill's writing is hugely intelligent, thought-provoking and complex in the way the characters are written and interact. The film, like the play, is very heavy talk, and it is very uncompromising talk, but it's the kind that is always crucial to every character, their actions, way of thinking and motivations. The story is deliberately paced, but actually never felt dull to me (even the early portions) and has a big emotional impact. Both in a searingly intense and tear-inducingly moving way, not an easy watch but the film is far from bland when it comes to the emotions. 'Long Day's Journey into Night' is long but contrary to others' opinions it isn't overlong, with the play being long and so rich in detail in writing and characterisation that cannot be missed the film needed a long length.

Characters are psychologically fascinating, as usual with O'Neill, they have been criticised for being unlikeable but to me they have always come over as very realistic (like the subject matter itself, so much so it hit home with me). While they have their flaws, then again most characters in most films do, but they are so powerfully and intricately written that it was hard not to relate. 'Long Day's Journey into Night' also has amazing performances. Katharine Hepburn unsurprisingly absolutely sears as Mary and Dean Stockwell was seldom better. Jason Robards' experience in his role shows while Ralph Richardson brings tortured complexity to James.

In conclusion, wonderful. 10/10.