Film Review
If
Angel Face had been
directed by anyone other than Otto Preminger it would almost
certainly have ended up as a routine film noir crime drama, its barely
credible plot (taken from a novel by Chester Erskine) doing its
damnedest to strain the credulity of anyone who has to watch it.
One of the true maestros of film noir, Preminger was never one to let a
far-fetched plot get in the way of a good film, as he had previously
demonstrated on
Laura (1944) and
Fallen
Angel (1945), two of his best films. With its
implausible plot twists and hard-to-fathom characters
Angel Face is a more challenging
proposition, but somehow Preminger takes it and fashions it into a
chilling study in evil and manipulation, the result being one of the
most devious and unsettling of all films noirs.
Looking like a man who has had his fill of playing doomed noir heroes,
Robert Mitchum brings an unmistakable blend of cynicism and detachment
to his performance as bad girl Jean Simmons attempts to lure him into
her web of murderous intrigue. It's the familiar noir set up but
somehow the subtlety of the performances and Preminger's hypnotic
mise-en-scène make it fresh and dangerously exciting. With
her gamine looks Simmons appears too naive and unsophisticated to pose
a real threat. Mitchum appears too worldly wise and sarcastic to
be taken in by a rich girl's fanciful hokum. But these are only
surface impressions. In truth, Mitchum is far more vulnerable
than we think and Simmons proves to be much deadlier than we dare
imagine. This is why the film constantly takes us by surprise and
leaves us gasping with disbelief and horror in at least two
hard-to-forget sequences.
Angel Face is more than just a
study in evil, it is one of classic film noir's most skilful attempts
to unpick the human psyche and show what evil really is - not an
aberration in a diseased mind but something that exists within us all, a
destructive impulse that feeds on the baser motives, such as the yearning for
things we desire but cannot possess by legitimate means.
Mitchum's character is far less innocent than he pretends and, far from
being a passive victim, he becomes an active participant in his
downfall, consciously or subconsciously drawn to Simmons by hopes of
exploiting her family's wealth. Simmons is hardly your classic
film noir temptress - she seems barely able to comprehend what she is
doing and seems to be entirely driven by subconscious impulses.
The hidden forces that motivate both characters, already blurred to
frustrating opacity, become indecipherable once the crime has been
committed and the protagonists end up being dragged through a mockery
of a trial. As the drama enters its final act, some deft lighting
and camerawork serve to create a harrowing sense of confinement and we
quickly realise that there is no way out. The trap has been
sprung and there is a horrible, almost mathematical inevitability about what ensues...
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Otto Preminger film:
The Moon Is Blue (1953)
Film Synopsis
The Tremaynes, Charles and Catherine, are a wealthy couple who live
with their daughter Diane at their hilltop estate in Beverley
Hills. One evening, Catherine Tremayne narrowly escapes death by
gas inhalation and suspects that someone attempted to kill her.
Ambulance driver Frank Jessup, a member of the medical team which came
to Mrs Tremayne's aid, notices a visibly unsettled Diane and attempts
to comfort her. They meet up later that evening and have dinner
together, although Charles is uncomfortable about having to lie to his
girlfriend Mary. Diane persuades Charles that her stepmother is a
cruel woman who mistreats both her and her father, a failed writer who
has become financially dependent on her. Reluctantly Frank
decides to give up his present job to work for the Tremaynes as a
chauffeur, hopeful that Mrs Tremayne may give him a loan so he can buy
a garage. Shortly after Frank tells Diane that he intends leaving
her to resume his old life her parents are killed when their car drives
over the edge of a cliff. Diane wants to confess to the double
homicide but her lawyer advises her that to do so would also
incriminate Frank...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.