Movie #13: Released in 1941, directed by Orson Welles, 119 minutes. Seen it before.
LetterBoxd Score: 4 stars
The movie looks ahead of it’s time; maybe, in fact, out of time. I’m not sure anything has ever looked quite like it again. So much care has gone into the framing. He loves these shots of people looking at each other, where you can see the side of someone’s face, from behind, as they watch someone else.
Another part that stood out to me was the opening shot; how it fades from shot to shot, with the next composed just so that the cross-fade makes sense and isn’t dissonant.
The movie also seems almost reverse-engineered to give it’s large cast interesting things to do. Most of the major characters appear young and old (with old age make-up that I think still gets the job done), in comedy and in drama.
Lastly, it’s also a movie that has plenty to ruminate on; the role of the press, American inequality in the gilded age, ambition, love, etc.
I respect the movie as a pinnacle of craft. But I don’t love it.
Part of this might be the weight of expectations. I think if this was an overlooked thing, I would be eager to celebrate it’s technical artistry. But my guiding star for movies, for awhile, has been a quip by Tasha Robinson that what she most looks for in cinema is “an intense emotional experience I can get behind and something visual that’s distinctive and memorable.” This has the latter in spades, but I don’t really connect with it on an intellectual or emotional level.
On an emotional level, there are a few exceptions: the early scene when Kane leaves his parents is affecting for me as a parent. And young Orson Welles oozes charisma. I also like this moment:
But otherwise, maybe it just doesn’t feel human-scaled?
Intellectually, maybe the trouble is these ideas have been digested and endlessly repackaged: a rich man who can’t find happiness? In any event, I don’t find myself thinking about this movie after it’s over.
Why would someone think it’s one of the ten greatest movies ever made?
Because it is a pinnacle of craft; and it’s almost art-house in its style, but manages to pull off an accessible story.
Next week: Casablanca