theognis-80821

This facile romantic comedy features a wealthy, misanthropic, obsessive-compulsive writer of romance novels (Jack Nicholson), who begins to engage with others, with help from the gay artist next door (Greg Kinnear) and his favorite waitress (Helen Hunt). If there's hope for oddball Melvin Udall, there's hope for us all. The sets, costumes, and general production values reek of money, not as typical of New York as much as a sound stage, but this is a pleasant fantasy of people reaching out. Writer/director James Brooks offers plenty of twists and turns to intrigue the audience before bringing us to where we expected.

This is the greatest ghost story ever made. From its German expressionist opening to its magnificent ending, it recounts the tale of Johnny McQueen (James Mason), the local leader of an "illegal organization" in Northern Ireland. A robbery is planned in the home of his beloved, Kathleen Sullivan (Kathleen Ryan), but, despite the time in prison and hiding which weakened him, he feels obligated to do his job. Shot, severely wounded and doomed, most of the film resembles a prolongation of the great final sequence of John Huston's masterpiece, "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950). Director Carol Reed's brilliant staging and compositions make Kathleen the primary character for what follows. DP Robert Krasker wonderful photography and a fine score by William Alwyn enhance its emotional depth. Carol Reed had a special talent for making gentle people powerful: Mason and Ryan here, Ralph Richardson in "The Fallen Idol" (1948), Joseph Cotton in "The Third Man" (1949) and Burt Lancaster in "Trapeze" (1956). Sir Carol Reed was unique.

The tragedy of Everyman has been a strong challenge for modern writers, who have tried, from Brecht to Miller to W. R. Burnett, to tell that story. From out of DP Joseph August's foggy streets in Dublin, "Gypo" Nolan (Victor McLaglen emerges to see his beloved Katie Madden (Margot Grahame) about to sell herself due to poverty and the vain hope of emigration to America. But, like all tragic heroes, his fate is foreordained. Unlike classic tragic heroes, the Everyman, already near the bottom, has a short way to fall. Cinema, though, makes all characters "larger than life:" the close-up makes all lead actors heroes. So we're moved by their fall just the same. Even appeals to the bourgeois (suit and tie clad Preston Foster and lovely Heather Angel) can promise no escape. Here, John Ford relates the tragedy of the poor and oppressed of Ireland.