Saturday, May 24, 2008
Notorious
One of the genuinely best viewing experiences in my recent splurge of re-viewing movies I watched as a teen-ager, Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. a film that I barely remembered. Elegantly shot. Strongly acted. Great ending. Wonderful romance. Now I remember why I so enjoyed it. And the connection to Lust, Caution didn't occur to me until watching it again.
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Probably my favorite film of all time.
It is wonderful to see over and over again because you know it so well you can focus on the performances. The film is filled with close-cropped close ups. Truly, truly wonderful. Equal to Vertigo, although obviously more conventional.
Not quite equal to Vertigo, but with a more understated version of a similar idea. A pleasure to watch.
I think the performances in Notorious are more difficult in a way because you can see the inner tension. This isn't a knock on Kim Novak, because the way the film plays out she seems to just be playing different people, as the twist is supposed to be so jarring and ludicrous that it never really is clear who she is, as the film is much more about who Johnny wants her to be anyway.
This one gets better and better every time I watch it, but then I'm a sucker for Cary Grant and here's he's at his darkest.
I'm not sure I made the Lust, Caution connection myself, though I did get a strong Hitchcock vibe off of it.
I do love the performances in this film. Grant is at his best. But Bergman is so easygoing. And not that I place a great deal of weight on accent mastery, but for a scene or two, I thought where's the Swedish chick? I didn't recognize her at first. Funny.
Yeah, it's pretty similar to Lust, Caution, but with a different conclusion [spolier]
She chooses to save the spied-upon by coming clean in the end, and dies for it.
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