![]() How quickly “Laura” shifts from a family melodrama to a hard-boiled noir to an achingly romantic affair is fascinating. As the questioning of the suspects reveals a twisty plot, it also finds him falling in love with the murder victim. The meticulous nature of the narrative itself engages the audience such that when the ending happens, with all of the inevitability of a noir, it becomes decidedly surprising and yet devastating, and somehow Kubrick manages to impress upon the unpredictability of the noir with that same exactitude.Ī curious melodrama with all of the fatalism within the dreamlike nature of this cozy noir, “Laura” follows police detective Mark McPhearson, who is hired to investigate the titular character’s death. It is also bolstered by Sterling Hayden’s steely presence as Johnny Clay, one of the quintessential noir actors who carry cynicism and alacrity equally. Under Kubrick’s hand, a routine heist story becomes a meticulous affair, with precise details given to the planning and recruiting of the affair. While it doesn’t have the precise framing defining his aesthetic, the narrative is just eerily detailed, sometimes coldly so. They say the third time’s the charm, and Kubrick’s filmography with his exactitude style comes to fruition in his third feature. ![]() However, unbeknownst to him, Clay’s girlfriend has plans of her own regarding the robbery. This meticulously crafted film follows Johnny Clay, a career criminal who recruits a five-person team consisting of men of diverse talents and motivations to hatch a daring racetrack robbery before going straight and getting married. “Gun Crazy” introduces the “incendiary lovers on the run,” but what Lewis completely sells us on is that the volatility of such an enterprise requires a fiery performance and equally fiery chemistry. After upsetting the carnival owner, who lusts after Starr, they both get fired, which forces them to realize their fascination with guns through a crime spree. This film follows Bart Tate, an ex-army man whose long-held fascination with guns leads him to meet a kindred spirit in carnival sharpshooter Annie Starr. The second Lewis feature on the list, however, is more guerrilla than the previous entry but also one of the more pioneering ones. And while the axiom of “the hero is only as good as the villain” is particularly skewed as the villain presides over the hero for most of the film, it only serves to make the ending more cathartic, with the final shot becoming one of the defining “noir” shots of history. Lewis, particularly with the help of Alton’s expertise with the playing of chiaroscuro, brings a sense of panache to the intense sequences, which differ from usual noir offerings, giving a touch of incendiary yet artistic quality to the proceedings. Brown, who brings a slick coolness to the character while hiding a primal definition of evil. ![]() The film is particularly helped by Richard Conte’s portrayal of Mr.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |