Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master ListGlobe · 1
Spoiler-free premise
Lora Meredith, a white single mother who dreams of being on Broadway, has a chance encounter with Annie Johnson, a black widow.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
Aspiring actor Lora Meredith and daughter Susie form a household with Black widow Annie Johnson and her light-skinned daughter Sarah Jane. As Lora's career rises, Annie supports the family while Sarah Jane increasingly rejects the identity society punishes.
Why it belongs
Imitation of Life uses glossy melodrama to critique race, motherhood, ambition, and passing through color, mirrors, costume, and devastating performance.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
Stage doors, dressing rooms, shared kitchens, white clothing, mirrors, photographs, and Frank Skinner's score make success and erasure visually linked—Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner give Annie and Sarah Jane the film's deepest conflict.
