Film Review
The first of Carol Reed's unfaltering masterpieces is this
extraordinarily intense and poignant film noir drama which both
presaged the director's other great works - notably
The
Third Man (1949) - and provided the inspiration for many
subsequent British noir thrillers. The lukewarm reception the
film received on its release probably had more to do with its
sympathetic portrayal of an IRA terrorist than its obvious artistic
merits. Today few would deny that
Odd Man Out is one of Reed's great
triumphs, and also a high point of 1940s British cinema.
What is most striking about the film is its arresting visual
presentation. Reed and his cinematographer Robert Krasker
transform the everyday reality of an ordinary town into the bleakest
noir labyrinth of the mind, with
stark shadows and high contrast lighting which, as in the German
expressionist films of the 1920s, create a harrowing sense of
confinement and impending doom. With its unremittingly bleak
fatalism, the film is evocative of both American film noir and
French poetic realism, but with a heightened sense of reality. The characters
in the drama are not the familiar noir stereotypes, but real people
with real failings, all trying to survive as best they can in an
austere and totally unforgiving world. It is the juxtaposition of
the subtly stylised setting and the startlingly realistic characters
which makes this film so memorable and effective.
Complementing Reed's inspired direction, Krasker's stunning
cinematography and a faultless screenplay are a collection of superb
character performances from some of Britain's finest actors of the
period. As the hunted fugitive, James Mason turns in one of the
most creditable performances of his career, and we can only sympathise
with his character as his life drains away whilst others try to
capitalise on his misfortune, like vultures circling above a stricken
antelope. There's an equally memorable turn from another icon of
British cinema, Robert Newton, who is utterly sinister as a grotesque
artist obsessed with capturing the soul of a dying man.
F.J. McCormick comes close to stealing the film as the bird-loving
vagabond who has a crisis of conscience over what to do with Johnny,
and there are some equally respectable contributions from such talented
performers as Cyril Cusack, Kathleen Ryan, William Hartnell and Fay
Compton.
Odd Man Out is more than just
a compelling piece of cinema. It is also a powerful morality play
that deals with the essential themes of human experience - duty and
betrayal, the limits of free will, the conflict between self-interest
and compassion for others, the triumph of love and faith over
adversity. It may not be quite as stylistically brilliant as
The Third Man, which deals with
similar themes, but it is more depressingly astute in its assessment of
human nature. The experience of war and its immediate aftermath
would continue to cast a long shadow over British society for many
years. From this shadow would emerge such great works of cinema as
this, recording for posterity the scars and traumas of a generation that had seen Hell.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Carol Reed film:
The Fallen Idol (1948)
Film Synopsis
Johnny McQueen hides out in an anonymous Belfast house, having recently
broken out of prison where he was serving a stretch for involvement
with a terrorist organisation. To raise money for their cause,
Johnny and his fellow conspirators decide to mount a robbery on a
mill. Despite the pleas of his girlfriend Kathleen, Johnny
insists on leading the hold-up, even though his health isn't up to
it. The robbery goes exactly as planned, until the gunmen try to
make their getaway. Johnny stumbles and is apprehended by one of
the mill's employees. Having shot his assailant with his own gun,
Johnny attempts to climb into the getaway car but falls off. In a
daze, he staggers away, weakened by the bullet wound he sustained in his
escape. With the police and his friends frantically
scouring Belfast for him, Johnny wanders through the back streets
of the city in a delirious stupor. Some of the people he
encounters show him kindness, some are indifferent, but most appear to
be more interested in the reward money offered for his capture.
Realising the ultimate fate that awaits Johnny when he is caught,
Kathleen sets out to find him, having resolved that nothing will
separate them...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.