The Eva as Saint angle loses all conflict, and in reality, there has rarely been an issue or person more divisive than Eva Peron. To fix the movie version and the current revival so that it heavily leans toward one opinion, is as airheaded as one can get.
I agree, I'd hate to see Eva portrayed as a total villain also, and I admit I probably give the impression that's what I want based on the things I say. In actuality, pure bitch would ruin it just as much, because she wasn't totally evil and I personally believe a lot of what she did that is considered wrong felt very right to her, considering her circumstances and the appalling snubbing she endured even after rising to the top. It doesn't justify her and Peron's making people's lives hell, causing them to leave the country, or their shutting down of publications that dare speak unfavorably of them. Peron banned TIME magazine from Argentina for months just because they had mentioned Eva was illegitimate. There's no question that she and her husband's wild spending caused the country's economy ruin, and there's no question they dabbled in unethical practices.
But Eva did tons of undeniably noble deeds, as well. Particularly for the poor. I sympathize with her rage against the upper classes, which was very real. I've heard speeches of the real Eva in Spanish, in which she very openly and unabashedly denounces the rich, saying the poor will be favored by God and that we must defeat them, regardless of what or who is lost in the process. That in itself, as well intentioned as that may have been to her descamisados, can be said to have been evil. You just can't generalize like that and look down on a whole group, assuming the worst of them. But she did. And she did all this while hugging the sick and dishing out homes and money to the poor.
Definitely a complicated woman and a very difficult story, which is why I resent the oversimplification of it in the film and the current revival. The original presented a balanced portrait. A lot of people say Lupone's Eva was a bitch, even Lupone says that she would often be assumed to be the character she was playing: a bitch. But that's just people looking on the surface of things, Lupone portrayed her as strong and feisty but she had her vulnerable moments too. Above all, like Brantley said in his review of the revival, Lupone also infused the character with a fun sense, with a wink, with a sense of irony. This current portrayal is like Madonna's; all too serious, pious, and just bland.
Recreation of original John Cameron orchestration to "On My Own" by yours truly. Click player below to hear.
