The Movie Jar Series: Week 7

Rebecca:

Earlier this year, I read Daphne De Maurier’s famous novel “Rebecca”. I’ve had the film adaptation DVD for years, but didn’t want to see it until I’ve read the book first. Now that I’ve read the book, it was time to watch the movie! As you may know, there is also a remake of this classic coming to Netflix later this month. This 1940 film won best picture. I am generally not a huge fan of gothic stories, but was still excited to watch this movie, as it has such a reputation as a tried and true classic. “Rebecca” is a romantic suspense thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It tells the story of a young woman who marries a widower, only to find herself in the shadow of his deceased wife, Rebecca. She becomes the new mistress of Manderley, the estate of her husband Max de Winter. This mysterious manor is full of secrets and deceit. 

I certainly appreciated that the movie stayed true to the plot line presented in the book. To dive a little deeper in the plot, the story begins in Monte Carlo, where a young woman (played by Joan Fontaine) is working as a companion of a curmudgeonly middle aged socialite. While away, she gets swooped up in a whirlwind romance with Maxim de Winter (played by Laurence Olivier), a brooding and mysterious man. She leaves her post with this woman to marry Mr. de Winter, and finds herself running his estate. As previously mentioned, Mr. de Winter had a previous wife, named Rebecca, who died in a boating accident. The unnamed protagonist has trouble fitting into her new home, as she is constantly reminded of Rebecca’s former presence in the house, particularly by the head maid Mrs. Danvers. The young bride becomes more frightened and agitated by the ghostly presence of Rebecca. 

While this is a suspense film, the suspense throughout the movie is quite subtle. That being said, this subtle suspense is consistent, providing a gloomy, eerie effect on the film as a whole. Considering this movie was produced 60 years ago, I’m very impressed by how well it has held up. It certainly feels like an old movie, but it was still very effective as a gothic thriller. Some people would find it slow, as few thrillers today have, well, so few actual thrills. It is a slow burn, but I think the performances and the set design allow it to live up to its title as a classic film over half a century later. Olivier delivers a tremendous performance as the suave (actually, creepy, by modern standards, but times were different), untrustworthy leading man. I could sense his character’s pain and the way he is haunted by his deceased wife throughout “Rebecca”. Fontaine gave a great performance as the lead, staying true to the new Mrs. De Winters’ naive and mousy tendencies depicted in the book. Judith Anderson played Mrs. Danvers, the true villain of the film. Her eerie presence on screen was a major contributor to the spooky tone of Manderly. The setting also aided the somber tone of the film. Manderly appeared exactly as I pictured it while reading “Rebecca”. It is grand, intimidating, beautiful, and certainly ghostly. 

Overall, while a 1940s suspense film will never be my first pick, “Rebecca” was definitely worth a watch. It held up very well over time. This classic story would be extra fun this time of year, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you may want to check it out! 

Divorce, Italian Style: 

This week I continued my foray into 1960s classic Italian cinema. I watched the 1961 comedy, “Divorce, Italian Style”. It certainly had a very different tone from the Fellini picks from the last few weeks! This movie is about a man named Ferdinando (played by Marcello Mastroianni - the lead of the last two Italian films as well), a Sicilian who is married to Rosalia. He is unhappy in his marriage. Rosalia is a very devoted and loyal wife, however Ferdinando deems her ugly (she has a moustache and unibrow) and is secretly in love with his cousin, Angela. Talk about a dysfunctional family! He wishes to leave Rosalia in order to be with his cousin, however divorce is illegal at this point in time in Italy. Ferdinando hatches a plan to get out of his marriage, and mischief and madness ensues. 

Ferdinando constantly finds himself in trouble as he thinks up scenarios in which he can legally leave his wife. He often is caught in a daydream of his own wife’s demise. For example, while away at the beach for the afternoon, Ferdinando pictures Rosalia being pulled under by quicksand. Meanwhile, in town, a trial is taking place for a woman who killed her husband in a jealous rage. Ferdinando becomes even more inspired, even imagining her attorney narrating his schemes throughout the movie. His new plan is to catch Rosalia in an affair, therefore getting a lighter sentence for murdering her. Funnily enough, the climax of the movie revolves around the characters racing into town to catch the premiere of “La Dolce Vita”. This seems like an odd plot for a comedic film, but it is presented in a flippant and lighthearted manner. This story is a little ridiculous, but ultimately makes for great fun. 

“Divorce, Italian Style” may be a little hokey, but I definitely appreciated the comedic efforts throughout. It is a satire through and through, making fun of the moral high ground that was the norm in Italian culture at the time. This is displayed through the vast difference between Ferdinando’s fantasy of quiet school girl Angela, and his boisterous needy wife, Rosalia. This sort of disparity is commonly found in satires. Ferdinando realizes in the eyes of Italian moral authority, it is simply more acceptable to kill your wife than to divorce her. “Divorce, Italian Style” takes this idea and runs with it. 

Mastroianni seems to be Italy’s answer to James Dean. In all three of the films I’ve seen him star in, he is relentlessly slick, always wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette. His suave, ladies-man schtick works once again in “Divorce, Italian Style”. As an audience member, you clearly see what a morally corrupt and overall icky guy Ferdinando is, yet you are still rooting for him! He truly makes this goofy comedy worthwhile. 

“Divorce, Italian Style” was a great pick to further educate myself on Italian cinema, as it was much lighter and tongue-in-cheek than the epic Fellini movies of weeks prior. It makes fun of the Italian culture while still embracing it. It is fast paced and the script is sharp and witty. It is certainly worth a watch if you care to take on a classic Italian comedy!  

Blade Runner:

My next selection of the week was “Blade Runner”. For years, I’ve resisted watching this movie. I had it in my head that I would simply hate it, as science fiction is not my preferred movie genre. I was glad, however, that I pulled this title and finally had to sit down and see what I thought of it for myself. Let me say, I was entirely wrong about “Blade Runner”. Not only did I thoroughly enjoy it, but I’ve found myself thinking about it from time to time since seeing it. No one could be more surprised by this than me. 

For those of you unfamiliar, “Blade Runner” is a 1982 science fiction movie starring Harrison Ford and directed by Ridley Scott. “Blade Runner” is a dystopian film set in 2019 Los Angeles. In this world, humans have created replicants -humanoid androids-  to be used in off-world colonies. Ford plays Deckard, a cop who is tasked with hunting down replicants that have escaped to Earth, also known as a Blade Runner. Deckard is forced out of retirement when his former boss learns of 4 replicants who have illegally entered Earth to find their creator. As I am writing this, I am still so surprised I liked this movie!! Sorry, back to business. Essentially, the entire premise of the film centers around Deckard’s mission to eliminate the 4 replicants. He is also romantically involved with Rachel, an assistant who may or may not be a replicant. 

Another element of the film that I really enjoyed is that it was simultaneously film noir and science fiction. Many components of “Blade Runner” fall in line with a classic film noir style movie. For starters, this dystopian version of Earth is grungy, smoggy, and run down. The setting sets the mood of the film, as it is bleak and uncompromising. This dark setting lends itself perfectly to film noir. The lighting itself is heavy in chiaroscuro, or a strong contrast between light and dark in the same shot. This is a classic element of film noir. It also depicts a lonesome detective, conducting an assignment in a dark and gloomy setting. As in many film noir films, there is a femme fatale, in this case, Rachel. She is mysterious and attractive, luring the detective as he tries to accomplish his task. These elements really worked in favor of “Blade Runner’’, allowing it to be much more than a run-of-the-mill sci-fi flick. It had a lot of dimension, which I greatly appreciated. 

While the plot is fast-paced and compelling, the visuals are what truly took this film to the next level. It is hard to believe that this movie is nearly 4 decades old! I was stunned by the world Ridley Scott created. The setting is an essential part of the film, as it is completely immersive, dark, and drab. To me, “Blade Runner” is basically a perfect science fiction film. It is philosophical and is not overly reliant on action sequences. It goes far and beyond what is typically found in a science fiction movie. I was so pleasantly surprised, and strongly recommend this film.