I wanted to like this movie a lot, but as it played out I found myself getting increasingly bored.
There are some great performances to watch. Mel Ferrer, Zachary Scott, Joan Leslie and Robert Ryan all bring their fire to the screen.
Savvy readers will note I have excluded Joan Fontaine here. I can't tell the degree to which her one-note performance is the actresses's fault, or the screenwriter's tepid dialogue, or Howard Hughes meddling with the film.
But Joan comes off as too old to appear so innocent, and her winsome graciousness mixed with childish enthusiasm lost its lustre for me fairly quickly. And that's why this film seems to be empty at its centre. I wanted to see Joan be more consciously and purposefully "bad." Her villainy felt too easily won and her comeuppance at the end was a plot point rather than an emotional victory.
There are some great performances to watch. Mel Ferrer, Zachary Scott, Joan Leslie and Robert Ryan all bring their fire to the screen.
Savvy readers will note I have excluded Joan Fontaine here. I can't tell the degree to which her one-note performance is the actresses's fault, or the screenwriter's tepid dialogue, or Howard Hughes meddling with the film.
But Joan comes off as too old to appear so innocent, and her winsome graciousness mixed with childish enthusiasm lost its lustre for me fairly quickly. And that's why this film seems to be empty at its centre. I wanted to see Joan be more consciously and purposefully "bad." Her villainy felt too easily won and her comeuppance at the end was a plot point rather than an emotional victory.