African-American drifter
Danny Glover shows up at the LA doorstep of his old pal
Paul Butler. In the spirit of auld lang syne, Butler takes Glover in, though his wife (
Mary Alice) is not happy with this intrusion. She already has enough on her hands contending with her grown live-in son
Richard Brooks and his real-estate agent wife
Sheryl Lee Ralph. Glover ingratiates himself by reminding family of their Southern roots; less positively, he drinks a great deal, brings suspicious-looking cronies into the household. When Butler suffers a stroke, Glover assumes charge of the house--whereupon his charm evaporates and disaster follows. But Glover isn't really the villain of To Sleep With Anger: everyone in the film is depicted in all-too-human shades of gray. This effort by African American writer/ director
Charles Burnett was the first of his films to attract widespread critical notice, almost 13 years after he created the seminal
Killer of Sheep. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide