A lot better on a rewatch! Such an interesting tale about religion, sexuality and moral hypocrisy. I seriously imagine this film being one of the most controversial films to come out of the silent team I truly feel Sadie was innocent given her troubled past. She's a prostitute and a rather morally ambiguous character. She contrasts heavily with the judging Reverend Davidson. She's brazen, sexy and free spirited. But Davidson is aloof and cold. He treats her like the gutter. I do have respect for Christianity, and for that matter all the religions. But there's something rather annoying and even bad about imposing forcing your religion onto someone else, or even like judging within that religion. The missionary craze is deeply rooted in colonialist attitudes that felt "savages" needed to be civilised. Davidson has nothing but anger from me, while I sympathise for Sadie. Sadie eventually changes, from a sexually autonomous woman into a woman who embraces the fallen woman trope and redeems herself. However, the same thing Davidson was criticising her for was her sexuality, ironically he feels sexually attracted to her, even having wet dreams about her. His sexual attraction to her he cannot control and he unfortunately rapes her. She changes back into the old Sadie Thompson when she realises what a hypocrite he was. The film was actually so good I was surprised in a way. Silent films are another aesthetic! The film was shot perfectly and the visual imagery was stunning. I think all the cast have great performances but Gloria Swanson truly gave the greatest performance of her silent career. She's full of emotions, remorse and anger in this. It's such a fascinating combination. She's amazing in this.
A lot better on a rewatch! Such an interesting tale about religion, sexuality and moral hypocrisy. I seriously imagine this film being one of the most controversial films to come out of the silent team I truly feel Sadie was innocent given her troubled past. She's a prostitute and a rather morally ambiguous character. She contrasts heavily with the judging Reverend Davidson. She's brazen, sexy and free spirited. But Davidson is aloof and cold. He treats her like the gutter. I do have respect for Christianity, and for that matter all the religions. But there's something rather annoying and even bad about imposing forcing your religion onto someone else, or even like judging within that religion. The missionary craze is deeply rooted in colonialist attitudes that felt "savages" needed to be civilised. Davidson has nothing but anger from me, while I sympathise for Sadie. Sadie eventually changes, from a sexually autonomous woman into a woman who embraces the fallen woman trope and redeems herself. However, the same thing Davidson was criticising her for was her sexuality, ironically he feels sexually attracted to her, even having wet dreams about her. His sexual attraction to her he cannot control and he unfortunately rapes her. She changes back into the old Sadie Thompson when she realises what a hypocrite he was. The film was actually so good I was surprised in a way. Silent films are another aesthetic! The film was shot perfectly and the visual imagery was stunning. I think all the cast have great performances but Gloria Swanson truly gave the greatest performance of her silent career. She's full of emotions, remorse and anger in this. It's such a fascinating combination. She's amazing in this.
