The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Directed by Nunnally Johnson, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit follows Gregory Peck’s Tom Rath as he attempts to focus on his family and fledgling career in the aftermath of a traumatic stint in the Second World War. There’s little doubt, ultimately that The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit improves considerably as it progresses, as filmmaker Johnson, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a seriously erratic first act that’s rife with momentum-killing asides and subplots – with, for example, the various flashbacks to Tom’s time as a soldier contributing heavily to the aggressively hit-and-miss vibe. It’s clear, then, that the picture benefits substantially from Peck’s commanding and impressively subtle work as the inwardly-tortured central character, with the actor’s stirring efforts here going a long way towards sustaining the viewer’s interest even through the narrative’s more overtly padded-out stretches. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit‘s transformation into a surprisingly absorbing endeavor, then, is triggered by a growing emphasis on sequences of an unabashedly melodramatic nature, as Johnson peppers the movie’s second half with a series of memorable, standout moments, including Tom’s electrifying confrontation with his grandmother’s sleazy caretaker, that cumulatively ensure that the whole thing becomes far more absorbing than one might’ve initially anticipated – which does, in the end, cement the film’s place as a palpably overlong yet ultimately rewarding piece of work.

*** out of ****