This is the quintessential answer to “Alt 40’s” I set out to find when I gave myself this quest. Not long ago, I became intrigued by 40’s films. After watching more, my single biggest criticism is the formations and catalysts of romance. Some examples I would refer: Rebecca, Suspicion, The Philadelphia Story, and Letter from an Unknown Woman. Each respective romance, however it blossoms, leaves much to be desired. To be even more cynical, it often feels written in a way to strip the woman of her autonomy.
This film essentially answers every protest I could conceive. Narratively, the exploration of Madeleine’s character gives her endless dimension. I think it’s important to lay out the players as their intwined.
slight spoilers ahead, but really I don’t think this jeopardizes enjoyment
Madeleine is married to her husband (literally credited Madeleine’s Husband).
Madeleine is courted by Michael, a conductor. They fall in passionate love.
Madeleine encounters Viktor, her husband’s boss and an acquaintance of Michael.
Upon discovering Madeleine and Michael’s affair, Viktor seemingly attempts to coerce Madeleine into loving him through threatening both husband and lover.
Madeleine’s intellect and wit are sharp. She counters and parries, dances and shifts gracefully in conversation. She constantly navigates the patriarchal landscape, even in the abode of her lover. I feel like this movie emphasized how unprotected a woman can feel. This love diamond, with three of the four corners being symbolic masculine roles, is always bombarding Madeleine with their bs.
In other films, especially of this time, the love that ignites between Madeleine and Michael would be taken for granted and have no explanation. We would not have spent time with Madeleine on her own and grown with her autonomous identity. This movie takes full advantage of the depth and innerworkings of Madeleine’s mind it can show us. It even goes as far as to overstay its welcome and misstep with a final mental montage lol. But ultimately, it’s all the better for the time and nuance we get with Madeleine.
I found Madeleine’s character endlessly fascinating. Such a felt portrayal of a “Woman has seemingly happy life, but we understand why she’s unhappy.” The story unveiled the subtlest jabs and suffocating downpours of coerced mundanity. We are able to see the stark shortcomings of the husband who is “good” with a silent “enough” behind.
I think the more insidious flaws, with respect to domestic ecosystems, are unveiled thru Madeleine’s husband, with further insight upon Madeleine’s accident. We see passive jabs or plain detachment. When he called her unlucky at the card table, that was so sad. And then when they were just sitting in their room side by side on the couch, as if staring into nothingness. And because we know about Madeleine’s actual passion, which we see through her life with Michael, it is actual suffocation of Madeleine.
Color me shocked when a third lover was introduced. I thought it insightful to show Madeleine’s navigation of the various iterations of courtship a woman must go through, all trials and tribulations which unfold. Viktor’s evolution was quite rapid. His presence certainly enhances the darkness of the film and adds further complications to Madeleine’s already complicated life. To endlessly navigate the labyrinth of unprovokation is Madeleine’s true dilemma.
There’s a definite sophistication and elevation to Madeleine’s character, wonderfully played by Marianne Hoppe, who reminds of a German Joan Crawford! I adored the depth that was given to her and felt totally sympathetic to her plight. She felt trapped but autonomous. She gets a lot of credit for being so capable and shrewd but still at the mercy of those who wish to overwhelm. This is the kind of dour triumphant movie I explicitly set out to find this year.
This is the quintessential answer to “Alt 40’s” I set out to find when I gave myself this quest. Not long ago, I became intrigued by 40’s films. After watching more, my single biggest criticism is the formations and catalysts of romance. Some examples I would refer: Rebecca, Suspicion, The Philadelphia Story, and Letter from an Unknown Woman. Each respective romance, however it blossoms, leaves much to be desired. To be even more cynical, it often feels written in a way to strip the woman of her autonomy.
This film essentially answers every protest I could conceive. Narratively, the exploration of Madeleine’s character gives her endless dimension. I think it’s important to lay out the players as their intwined.
slight spoilers ahead, but really I don’t think this jeopardizes enjoyment
Madeleine is married to her husband (literally credited Madeleine’s Husband).
Madeleine is courted by Michael, a conductor. They fall in passionate love.
Madeleine encounters Viktor, her husband’s boss and an acquaintance of Michael.
Upon discovering Madeleine and Michael’s affair, Viktor seemingly attempts to coerce Madeleine into loving him through threatening both husband and lover.
Madeleine’s intellect and wit are sharp. She counters and parries, dances and shifts gracefully in conversation. She constantly navigates the patriarchal landscape, even in the abode of her lover. I feel like this movie emphasized how unprotected a woman can feel. This love diamond, with three of the four corners being symbolic masculine roles, is always bombarding Madeleine with their bs.
In other films, especially of this time, the love that ignites between Madeleine and Michael would be taken for granted and have no explanation. We would not have spent time with Madeleine on her own and grown with her autonomous identity. This movie takes full advantage of the depth and innerworkings of Madeleine’s mind it can show us. It even goes as far as to overstay its welcome and misstep with a final mental montage lol. But ultimately, it’s all the better for the time and nuance we get with Madeleine.
I found Madeleine’s character endlessly fascinating. Such a felt portrayal of a “Woman has seemingly happy life, but we understand why she’s unhappy.” The story unveiled the subtlest jabs and suffocating downpours of coerced mundanity. We are able to see the stark shortcomings of the husband who is “good” with a silent “enough” behind.
I think the more insidious flaws, with respect to domestic ecosystems, are unveiled thru Madeleine’s husband, with further insight upon Madeleine’s accident. We see passive jabs or plain detachment. When he called her unlucky at the card table, that was so sad. And then when they were just sitting in their room side by side on the couch, as if staring into nothingness. And because we know about Madeleine’s actual passion, which we see through her life with Michael, it is actual suffocation of Madeleine.
Color me shocked when a third lover was introduced. I thought it insightful to show Madeleine’s navigation of the various iterations of courtship a woman must go through, all trials and tribulations which unfold. Viktor’s evolution was quite rapid. His presence certainly enhances the darkness of the film and adds further complications to Madeleine’s already complicated life. To endlessly navigate the labyrinth of unprovokation is Madeleine’s true dilemma.
There’s a definite sophistication and elevation to Madeleine’s character, wonderfully played by Marianne Hoppe, who reminds of a German Joan Crawford! I adored the depth that was given to her and felt totally sympathetic to her plight. She felt trapped but autonomous. She gets a lot of credit for being so capable and shrewd but still at the mercy of those who wish to overwhelm. This is the kind of dour triumphant movie I explicitly set out to find this year.
