Post by klep on Aug 5, 2019 6:52:41 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/5: In A Lonely Place
BLACK & WHITE WEEK!
Dix's life changes when he meets his new neighbor Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame). She alibis him for a murder he's suspected of; she saw the victim (Mildred Atkinson, played by Martha Stewart) leave Dix's apartment by herself. It doesn't take long before Laurel and Dix are an item, and he actually seems happy!
Dix has gotten away with things thus far because "boys will be boys", and also because Hollywood protects its own. His agent (Art Smith) even tries at one point to persuade Laurel to just deal with Dix's abuse for the sake of his supposed greatness - a refrain that is all-too familiar to those of us hearing defenses of great artists who have committed evil deeds. In fact it's easy to sympathize with Dix. The movie is largely told from his perspective, and Bogart's charm makes the police seem like the bad guys - eager to bust up a budding romance for the sake of getting a collar.
But the darkness is there in Dix, and it's easy to see - whether it's the ease with which he describes a possible murder or the way he nearly kills a man in a blind rage after a fender bender. It's not until the end of the film that we learn Mildred's true fate, but by the time the truth is learned, it's too late. Dix has already made clear that if it wasn't Mildred it was eventually going to be somebody else. Laurel can't fix him like she thought, and she shouldn't be expected to even try. All she can do is get out before Dix gets her.
Bogart and Grahame deliver truly stunning performances in this film, each giving some of their best work. Perhaps it's because the turmoil in the film was familiar to each of them. Director Nicholas Ray was already estranged from Grahame when production started, and they would separate before it ended (they would later reconcile until Ray caught her in bed with his seventeen-year-old son from a previous marriage). And Bogart himself was no stranger to drinking or violent behavior - his third marriage to Mayo Methot was notoriously turbulent and violent on the part of both spouses. Perhaps all of them found something in the film that was a little too close to home; irresistibly attracted to some ugly reflection in the mirror.
As Dix wanders off in shame, alone, deflated, Laurel recites the lament from his screenplay. "I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me." It's sad - one of the saddest endings in cinema. But it's the right ending. Laurel isn't safe with Dix; no one is, and he knows it.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/12: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
SCREWBALL WEEK!
This Pedro Almodovar classic is our next Movie of the Week! Come join us next week for our discussion of this black comedy, about a woman hunting down the lover who suddenly left her. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is available for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 8/6: The Art of Self-Defense
The podcast's paring on men seeking themselves through violence concludes next week with Riley Stearns' The Art of Self-Defense. Join us on Wednesday for our discussion of this film, still in theaters!
BLACK & WHITE WEEK!
The first shot of In A Lonely Place is one of those perfect opening shots that defines the movie to come. It's a driver's-eye view in a car, with most of the frame obstructed by the opening credits. But what's not obstructed is the rear-view mirror, and Humphry Bogart's eyes reflected in it. His expression is pained, and sad. We can already tell he's isolated and directionless, the metaphor of his eyes in the mirror and his car on the road speaks volumes about where Dixon Steele is in life and how he feels. He's not happy with himself, and definitely not happy with how his life is going. He's a down-on-his-luck screenwriter with almost no friends, and his job opportunities have gotten scarce since his heyday.
The tragedy of In A Lonely Place though is that Dix is not a good guy. He's an angry man with a history of violence - including domestic abuse - and the police are right to suspect him. He "deals" with his insecurity and poor self-esteem by lashing out every time he feels he's losing control. It's only a matter of time before that rage bubbles to the surface no matter how much Laurel thinks she's fixed him. At some point she'll slip, and then she'll be the target. The degradation of their relationship to an abusive one feels painfully real, and that last day she has with Dix is harrowing in the way only truth can be.
But the darkness is there in Dix, and it's easy to see - whether it's the ease with which he describes a possible murder or the way he nearly kills a man in a blind rage after a fender bender. It's not until the end of the film that we learn Mildred's true fate, but by the time the truth is learned, it's too late. Dix has already made clear that if it wasn't Mildred it was eventually going to be somebody else. Laurel can't fix him like she thought, and she shouldn't be expected to even try. All she can do is get out before Dix gets her.
Bogart and Grahame deliver truly stunning performances in this film, each giving some of their best work. Perhaps it's because the turmoil in the film was familiar to each of them. Director Nicholas Ray was already estranged from Grahame when production started, and they would separate before it ended (they would later reconcile until Ray caught her in bed with his seventeen-year-old son from a previous marriage). And Bogart himself was no stranger to drinking or violent behavior - his third marriage to Mayo Methot was notoriously turbulent and violent on the part of both spouses. Perhaps all of them found something in the film that was a little too close to home; irresistibly attracted to some ugly reflection in the mirror.
As Dix wanders off in shame, alone, deflated, Laurel recites the lament from his screenplay. "I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me." It's sad - one of the saddest endings in cinema. But it's the right ending. Laurel isn't safe with Dix; no one is, and he knows it.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/12: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
SCREWBALL WEEK!
This Pedro Almodovar classic is our next Movie of the Week! Come join us next week for our discussion of this black comedy, about a woman hunting down the lover who suddenly left her. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is available for rent in the usual places.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 8/6: The Art of Self-Defense
The podcast's paring on men seeking themselves through violence concludes next week with Riley Stearns' The Art of Self-Defense. Join us on Wednesday for our discussion of this film, still in theaters!