Laura

In my case, self-absorption is completely justified. I have never discovered any other subject quite so worthy of my attention.
One of the best films of all time. Noir or not.

Honestly, the layers of suspicion and mystery here work on so many levels, and watching a pre-spooktacular honestly serious chops actor Vincent Price tear it up with high-society Clifton Webb in so many nasty, smarmy male-catfight ways just makes me smile anytime a verbal barb is thrown or an insult sharpened and casually stabbed into someone's good character and twisted with glee. They had fun tearing each other down and it shows.

The camera work is way ahead of its time, almost Spielberg-esque and mesmerizing. Little things focused on, casually panned over, and put into scenes that when you watch it a second time the true genius is revealed. Crowd shots. Outdoors and inside. Weather. The smart use of shadows. Effortless panning and zooming as if the camera were an angel floating on air. The editing too, extremely sharp and smart, respecting the viewers' time without cutting off too much. What is needed is there and what is not is not.

The twists too, if you don't know...don't spoil it for yourself. Watch without expectations or spoilers.

It is a smart movie too, expecting a degree of detective work and attention from the audience where everything isn't handed to the viewer on an easily explained platter. You get to play along 'whodunit' with the detective and the fun comes from a second viewing and catching all the little things that become important later, the whos and the whys, and following along knowing why but not how.

Just...beautiful.

There is one scene during a dinner that smartly lays out everything before that came before and I feel is a masterpiece of how this summary film-making should be done. This is interesting, time-spanning, groundwork-laying, character development while still maintaining that sense of tension and foreboding doom. It is also quite long, but it doesn't feel that way. I have never seen a summary segment done so well.

Many of the cast from Fallen Angel (reviewed earlier and also by Otto Preminger) return here and I watched that movie before this one and was pleasantly surprised the best came back for another round of film-making. This really feels like old friends making movies together in a way, and the cast feels comfortable in their roles and they really shine together.

I go to the theater these days with big-budget films and I come away feeling greasy, shell shocked, and hollow. Too much CGI. The abundance of spectacle over thoughtfulness. The expectation of a dumb and inattentive audience. There is nothing for people who want to be treated as human beings with feelings and intelligence.

Commercial films are opiate for the senses, they overwhelm us with sights and colors, bombastic sounds and recycled pop music, and they ultimately play on false emotions.

Here's a song from your past you know that makes you feel a certain way.

Here it is over our movie! We paid a lot for these song rights, so pay attention!

Doesn't our movie make you feel good again? Just like the song you remembered?

Okay, now forget about the song in about five years when we use it for some other movie.

I miss original movies, and ones that don't play needlessly on false nostalgia. I miss films with original scores, with songs from artists debuting as a part of the movie's release.

And I come back to movies like Laura. Ones that I watch and feel like a real person again. They didn't have VFX and they did the best with what they had, great actors, smart film-making, stylish shots, and a touch of art and class. They don't blast a soundtrack over the film and use that as false, sugary, and meaningless emotion.

Films like this expect me to think, to watch them again and pick up on things, to relax and see the cast enjoy doing what they do - make movies together. They aren't the false creations of a computer. These are real people taking a piece of film, some costumes, and some sets, and creating a world together for our enjoyment.

What I see as brave film-making these days is what I see in the classics. Letting the actors act. To let the script tell a story. And to let the camera show the scenes as they are. Honesty. An avoidance for sugary tricks and cheap computer-generated spectacle.

What you see in this film, as in many other classics, are slices of what actually happened somewhere in a moment in time. Real life and make believe. Costumes, lighting, and tricky visual and physical effects. Edited together in an interesting way, and a story scripted to tie things together.

Again, this movie, like Fallen Angel, has this timeless effortless feel to it. Beyond a couple funny hats, period sayings, and some classic cars, this movie could be set in the world of today. You don't have to overlook much to immerse yourself in this mystery and in this world. What feels real are the emotions and feelings here, and those transcend time.

This film does break some Noir rules, but honestly the quality here shines through and I don't care. Rules were made to be broken, but it takes a skilled crafts-person to break them right and still be seen as a landmark in the genre.

Highly recommended.

Comments

  1. Excellent film... for all the reasons you mentioned. I consider this a wonderful example of Film Noir (and then some).

    My fav American film noir is "Farewell My Lovely". Several versions have been made of this Raymond Chandler book but (IMHO) the best is the 1975 version with Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe and Charlotte Rampling as the femme fatal. (it even has a cameo with Sylvester Stallone). Atmosphere, music, back-story of the DiMagio streak and fine performances throughout.

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