Stanley Kramer's film is a work that is not sentimentalized. He does a fine job of allowing the experiences of the characters to be the focus of the film, not camera moves. He contains that story to the Drayton home in a wonderful way. John and Joanna arrive in San Francisco so, we get to see where they are, but Kramer keeps the setting to the Drayton home primarily once they arrive. This reveals that this is one story among a sea of others.
Mr. Kramer does use lighting to enhance the picture. One scene with Christina coming in after getting ice cream with Matt we see the burnt orange of the sunset softly laying over their living room. It is a gentle reminder that time is not on their side as they must make up their minds this evening whether or not to give Joey and John their blessing. Kramer also chooses a specific moment to use his most dramatic camera move. It is between Tillie and John when she comes in to give him a piece of her mind about marrying Joanna. The camera comes off-level and the tilt dramatizes the moment between them; one which many would expect to be on level ground is far from it.
Kramer uses simple framing for Matt's final speech and a slightly moving camera to capture this man's heart. And, he uses a wonderful wide shot of the room as Matt closes and gets everyone to the table to dinner. What this wide shot does is allow every character 's body to be seen. This reveals how they feel about what he has just said, and they speak far stronger than any word could ever justify.
