Have really and even loved what has been seen of Jean Renoir's films, plenty more though to see. The story did sound really interesting on paper, as did the characters (with the right execution, they could have been quite complex and relatable). It is hard to go wrong with Joan Bennett, Charles Bickford and Robert Ryan, all three of whom did great work in other films. So with a lot of talent on board, 'The Woman on the Beach' had potential to be a masterpiece.
A masterpiece 'The Woman on the Beach' was not, sadly. Am not saying this with malice, actually really wanted to love this film but it unfortunately really really disappointed me, which is actually quite frustrating considering what it easily could have been. Seeing as Renoir was a fine director as well as the three leads being hardly devoid of talent as said, hold a good deal of Ryan's villainous roles in particularly quite high regard (i.e. Claggart in 'Billy Budd' and in 'Crossfire').
'The Woman on the Beach' is certainly not a terrible film. It looks great, the photography being both strikingly beautiful and clever in use of camera techniques which captures the setting quite vividly. The music has garnered a mixed reaction understandably, its style of composition is not one that one gets used to straightaway, it does take time, to me it smouldered in the right amount of intensity and even if the intensity did get a little too much at times it wasn't that at odds with the film's melodramatic tone. Although he is not on top form, Renoir's direction has moments of brilliance and parts do smoulder.
Both Bennett and Bickford register incredibly well, Bennett does imperiously icy as if it was made for her but the film's best performance belongs to a truly tremendous Bickford.
On the other hand, although some people say that a film being short can be a good thing (and it can be, being somebody that can have a problem if something is too long though it is always dependent on the material) this was a case of a film where being short was an undoing. To me, there was the sense that the film was intended to be longer than it turned out to be but had to have some excessive editing. As a result, the pace was erratic, the character development lacked cohesion and had inconsistent motivations (Ryan's character, one that should have been a quite meaty one, in particular doesn't make sense too often), some of the dialogue makes one cringe and the story felt like there were too many bits missing which made the very melodramatic drama feel choppy and incomplete.
Have always tried to not have a problem with ambiguous endings but this ending didn't feel just ambiguous, it actually came over as one of the worst cases of the film feeling incomplete. Nan Leslie barely registers in an underwritten role that leaves her with hardly anything to do. Ryan was a real disappoiment, this was a role that sounded perfect for him and should have been and the type of character to be potentially very relatable. Ryan however spends the entire time looking like he had no idea what he was doing.
In summary, mildly interesting but a disappointment that would have benefitted from a longer length which would have made things more complete and coherent. 5/10
A masterpiece 'The Woman on the Beach' was not, sadly. Am not saying this with malice, actually really wanted to love this film but it unfortunately really really disappointed me, which is actually quite frustrating considering what it easily could have been. Seeing as Renoir was a fine director as well as the three leads being hardly devoid of talent as said, hold a good deal of Ryan's villainous roles in particularly quite high regard (i.e. Claggart in 'Billy Budd' and in 'Crossfire').
'The Woman on the Beach' is certainly not a terrible film. It looks great, the photography being both strikingly beautiful and clever in use of camera techniques which captures the setting quite vividly. The music has garnered a mixed reaction understandably, its style of composition is not one that one gets used to straightaway, it does take time, to me it smouldered in the right amount of intensity and even if the intensity did get a little too much at times it wasn't that at odds with the film's melodramatic tone. Although he is not on top form, Renoir's direction has moments of brilliance and parts do smoulder.
Both Bennett and Bickford register incredibly well, Bennett does imperiously icy as if it was made for her but the film's best performance belongs to a truly tremendous Bickford.
On the other hand, although some people say that a film being short can be a good thing (and it can be, being somebody that can have a problem if something is too long though it is always dependent on the material) this was a case of a film where being short was an undoing. To me, there was the sense that the film was intended to be longer than it turned out to be but had to have some excessive editing. As a result, the pace was erratic, the character development lacked cohesion and had inconsistent motivations (Ryan's character, one that should have been a quite meaty one, in particular doesn't make sense too often), some of the dialogue makes one cringe and the story felt like there were too many bits missing which made the very melodramatic drama feel choppy and incomplete.
Have always tried to not have a problem with ambiguous endings but this ending didn't feel just ambiguous, it actually came over as one of the worst cases of the film feeling incomplete. Nan Leslie barely registers in an underwritten role that leaves her with hardly anything to do. Ryan was a real disappoiment, this was a role that sounded perfect for him and should have been and the type of character to be potentially very relatable. Ryan however spends the entire time looking like he had no idea what he was doing.
In summary, mildly interesting but a disappointment that would have benefitted from a longer length which would have made things more complete and coherent. 5/10