O'Donnell /Granger are par excellence the romantic couple of the film noir,and their scenes display a tenderness ,a longing for a happiness which always eludes them.This is a dark movie,since most of the scenes were filmed by night:the first meeting of the doomed lovers,the wedding (no walk down the aisle,no flowers,no wedding dress) ,the unforgettable last scene when O'Donnell whispers "I love you" ....
I certainly love Nicholas Ray's movies.In "they live by night" a lot of his recurrent features are already present:the hero is still a child ,a victim of fate.We do not know anything about his background,his parents but he's certainly akin to Jim Stark in "rebel without a cause " who is playing with a toy on the street or Jeff in "lusty men" finding back his old money-box.The heroine is a distant relative of Judy in "rebel" and O'Donnell resembles Natalie Wood.Like her,her family life is a dead end and she sees love as the only way out of it.In 'rebel' ,Ray puts the parents on trial ,in "Bigger than life" -one of his most extraordinary films ,unfairly overlooked - a father becomes monstrous and almost kills his son.Here Bowie was probably "killed" too, on his own at such an early age.
To quote Neil Young,Ray "offers life in sacrifice so the others can go on".In "Rebel" ,Plato's death might mean a new beginning for Jim and Judy and their families (it's stunning how Plato wanted his two friends to be his "parents" ).In "lusty men" ,Jeff's death signals Wes's maturity.But there 's much more:in "run for cover" we find another relationship father/son where the latter's decease allows his "father " to find love and serenity.Even the much debated "55 days at Peking" follows suit:Ray might have been drunk during the shooting,but the baroness'death leads the officer to take on the Chinese orphan girl.
Here Bowie's death does not leave the audience helpless and desperate :he had to die so that his child could have a better life .We know that Keechie is a strong girl and that she will do all that she can for her baby.
In Ray's world,young people are misfits:around them everything is hostile from a father washing up (in "Rebel") to the ugly sinister-looking gangsters in direct contrast with the lovers' charm(in "they live by night" ) to the cruel microcosm of rodeo (in "lusty men").The scene of the wedding is somewhat gloomy even if Ray displays a sense of humor ("You've got a cold!" (so don't kiss the bride)).It's a world beyond any moral:take for instance Mattie's character;is she good? is she evil?probably both like Vienna in "Johnny Guitar" or Ed in "Bigger than life".It displays more than a world in ruins: a world that has forgotten it's in ruins.Almost every ending tells us life HAS to be rebuilt.
I certainly love Nicholas Ray's movies.In "they live by night" a lot of his recurrent features are already present:the hero is still a child ,a victim of fate.We do not know anything about his background,his parents but he's certainly akin to Jim Stark in "rebel without a cause " who is playing with a toy on the street or Jeff in "lusty men" finding back his old money-box.The heroine is a distant relative of Judy in "rebel" and O'Donnell resembles Natalie Wood.Like her,her family life is a dead end and she sees love as the only way out of it.In 'rebel' ,Ray puts the parents on trial ,in "Bigger than life" -one of his most extraordinary films ,unfairly overlooked - a father becomes monstrous and almost kills his son.Here Bowie was probably "killed" too, on his own at such an early age.
To quote Neil Young,Ray "offers life in sacrifice so the others can go on".In "Rebel" ,Plato's death might mean a new beginning for Jim and Judy and their families (it's stunning how Plato wanted his two friends to be his "parents" ).In "lusty men" ,Jeff's death signals Wes's maturity.But there 's much more:in "run for cover" we find another relationship father/son where the latter's decease allows his "father " to find love and serenity.Even the much debated "55 days at Peking" follows suit:Ray might have been drunk during the shooting,but the baroness'death leads the officer to take on the Chinese orphan girl.
Here Bowie's death does not leave the audience helpless and desperate :he had to die so that his child could have a better life .We know that Keechie is a strong girl and that she will do all that she can for her baby.
In Ray's world,young people are misfits:around them everything is hostile from a father washing up (in "Rebel") to the ugly sinister-looking gangsters in direct contrast with the lovers' charm(in "they live by night" ) to the cruel microcosm of rodeo (in "lusty men").The scene of the wedding is somewhat gloomy even if Ray displays a sense of humor ("You've got a cold!" (so don't kiss the bride)).It's a world beyond any moral:take for instance Mattie's character;is she good? is she evil?probably both like Vienna in "Johnny Guitar" or Ed in "Bigger than life".It displays more than a world in ruins: a world that has forgotten it's in ruins.Almost every ending tells us life HAS to be rebuilt.