Spellbound
(1945, Alfred Hitchcock)
Spellbound
treads familiar Hitchcock territory in that it mixes romance with
mystery. In the 1945 picture, Ingrid Bergman stars as a brilliant
psychoanalyst working at an institution in the state of New York.
Gregrory Peck arrives, presumably, as its new head, but the viewers
slowly learn that the individual is an imposter, an amnesiac to be
more precise, one who may or may not have killed the actual doctor
who was scheduled to arrive. Bergman has the hots for him and
therefore attempts to rid him of his amnesia and discover the truth.
This
particular Hitchcock picture is curious given that it stars Gregory
Peck, an actor one would think had collaborated with Hitchcock more
often (like Sean Connery. Only one film in his case too) and that it
features a strange and exciting dream sequence whose visuals came
from the mind of great 20th century artist Salvador Dali.
Watching Spellbound, it is almost frightening to witness
someone out act Peck. Oh yes, that actually happens in this movie.
Ingrid Bergman is such a stunningly fluid actor. Her sense of timing
and of tone for each and every scene is second to none. She was
arguably the greatest actress of her time and is among the greatest
actresses ever. She nails the big moments, but it is the little head
turns, smiles and glances through which one can tell she is a real pro. Peck
is obviously quite good, playing the more difficult role, perhaps the
more showy role, but Bergman absolutely commands the screen. The
relationship between the two stars is the film's strongest element
for the story, even though its crux is fun (amnesia) is a little bit
more plain than what Hitchcock typically offers. There a few too many stretches
where it feels as though the story has slowed down to a bit too much.
On the flip side, psychoanalysis is used as a detective tool to
unravel a mystery, which is an interesting angle that replaces the
usual detective work. Michael Checkhov is amusing as an old mentor of
Bergman's. The aforementioned dream sequence is a neat piece of
flourish, with some fascinatingly strange imagery (as to be
expected), although it is disappointing to learn that the original
plan set up by Dali and Hitchcock was to have far more of them, some
of which were quite intense, but producer David O. Selznick nicked
the idea. Oh well.
A
pointless sequel to a film that was just as poor. Johnny Blaze
(Nicholas Cage) is now in Eastern Europe instead of the United
States. Satan (Ciaran Hinds) has taken on human form and is on the
hunt for his son in order to transfer his powers to him, which does
not sit well with the boy,s mother (Violante Placido). A drunk French
priest (Idres Elba) helps them in their quest to defend the planet
from hell itself.
From
I have seen of Neveldine and Taylor's work, I like what they do,
there off the wall visual and tonal style permitting them to take
audiences on for some wild rides only so few films dare to dream of,
but past successes can only forgive so much, and they shall not be
forgiven for making Spirit of
Vengeance. This is like Ridley Scott making Robin Hood.
One knows that all the ingredients, especially the director, are
right there on paper to make a great film (relatively speaking), yet
it never gels. In fact, in the case of Spirit of Vengeance, is
never even comes close, offering the fleetest of moments which may be
describe as vintage Neveldine and Taylor moments which would fit the
potentially crazy world of a Ghost Rider picture. The most egregious
fault is the lack of exciting in the action sequences. Everything is
so lifeless, so devoid of any sense of imagination. The closest the
directors ever come to creating something memorable is when they have
the protagonist take control of a gigantic construction work machine,
which then of course turns into a construction machine from hell,
just as the rider's bike typically does. To be honest, there is one
bright spot: Johnny Whitworth, who plays the devil's hired goon if
you will. He is the only one in this movie who realizes its terrible
so best make the most of it and just be funny. This is without
question the biggest dud thus far of 2012 and, honestly, it will
genuinely be difficult to top this.
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