Vincente Minnelli's film Tea and Sympathy (1956), is an adaptation of Robert Anderson's 1953 play. It explores the theme of sexual orientation and related prejudice. It tells the story of a sensitive teenager in a prep school, who gets harassed for his perceived homosexuality. The narrative is in the form of a flashback as Tom Robinson Lee recalls his past during a class reunion.
Tom studies at a preparatory school in New England. The housemaster Bill Reynolds considers athletic sports to be a tradition at the school. Unlike the other boys, Tom prefers music and poetry to football and volleyball. Tom's interest in 'feminine activities' and his ambiguous sexuality makes him an easy target.
A crisis erupts when Tom visits a town prostitute to prove his manhood. Tom's only consolation is his friendship with Laura Reynolds, the housemaster's wife. Laura's character is in a state of emotional turmoil. She understands Tom and wants to help him. She is desperate to prove that a sensitive man can be heterosexual. She nurses the pain of a marriage devoid of love. She beds the adolescent to protect him from torture. Laura's pity could be as derogatory as the homophobia of the men. An unsettling question lingers. Is Laura allowing Tom to be himself, or is she forcing him to be someone who she craves?
Minnelli introduced some changes in Anderson's play. In the original, Tom is mercilessly bullied when he swims nude with a male teacher. In the film, a couple of schoolmates see him sewing with Laura and some older women. The film does not attempt to define Tom's sexuality. The central issue is that a 'different' person evokes fear and loathing in society. Homophobes still equate artistic talent with femininity. A man's prowess on the athletic field is meant to be an indicator of his heterosexuality. The film also portrays the negative impact of bullying and peer pressure on the minds of young adolescents.
Tea and Sympathy reflects the social anxieties of the 1950s. It depicts the fear of being a non-conformist, the fear of wrong accusations, and their lifetime implications.
