A solid and simple melodrama elevated by strong themes and an extraordinary dual role performance from Mary Pickford. It's fascinating watching this in 2025 which has had a number of movies that have had actors acting opposite themselves, and here is a movie from 107 years earlier that does it well and still leaves you asking "How did they do that?" While Stella is very much the Pickford we all know and love, her Unity is so subtly unrecognizable you almost can't believe that it's the Mary Pickford. I don't know whether to chalk that up to make-up (or lack thereof), different hairstyles, or just Pickford using her face differently than usual, but it is utterly remarkable. Also some really gorgeous moments in the cinematography here, really pushing what you'd expect from a 1918 picture. Also I really love the score on this VCI Blu-Ray, goes with the film very well.
A solid and simple melodrama elevated by strong themes and an extraordinary dual role performance from Mary Pickford. It's fascinating watching this in 2025 which has had a number of movies that have had actors acting opposite themselves, and here is a movie from 107 years earlier that does it well and still leaves you asking "How did they do that?" While Stella is very much the Pickford we all know and love, her Unity is so subtly unrecognizable you almost can't believe that it's the Mary Pickford. I don't know whether to chalk that up to make-up (or lack thereof), different hairstyles, or just Pickford using her face differently than usual, but it is utterly remarkable. Also some really gorgeous moments in the cinematography here, really pushing what you'd expect from a 1918 picture. Also I really love the score on this VCI Blu-Ray, goes with the film very well.