'The Feminine Touch' sounded like my kind of film on paper. It had a nice concept and looked appetising. As many people may know already, what has always interested me and drawn me in into seeing any film, regardless of decade or genre, is a promising cast or one actor in particular. A promising cast this film had, Rosalind Russell, Kay Francis, Don Ameche and Van Heflin (when he is in the right role) have all done great work elsewhere and were promising on paper.
Sadly, while still watchable, 'The Feminine Touch' could have been so much better. Have seen quite a few odd films recently, but 'The Feminine Touch' has to be up there with the oddest. Not awful by any stretch, but considering the talent involved it had the potential to be a great film and instead isn't even a good one. If it works for people, that's cool as there is enough to it to not be too hard to understand any appeal it may have to others. In my mind though, it is more understandable if the film doesn't click for people.
Of course there are merits, otherwise it wouldn't be called watchable by me. It looks great, with the one exception of that unintentionally creepy hat (one might consider that a bit of a nit-pick though). The photography and settings though are the epitome of sophisticated, colourful elegence. A bit standout is the dream sequence, a wildly imaginative sequence in all senses and not just visually (not one to forget in a hurry). The music is sumptuous, in unmistakable Franz Waxman style, without being too melodramatic or intrusive. There are witty and charming moments sprinkled throughout and one does wish that there were more and that they came more consistently.
What primarily saves 'The Feminine Touch' is the cast. Ameche completely succeeds in making his somewhat idiotic character just about work, because he was just so charming and suave as he often was in general. Francis sparkles like a shining star and Heflin surprisingly doesn't play his rather neurotic part too heavily, which would have been so easy to do.
Didn't think though that Russell was quite as strong and personally was a little more conflicted on her, she gives her absolute all but somehow the role didn't seem quite right for her. It is agreed that it it was almost as if she was not the first choice initially and was brought in as replacement. The script is drastically uneven, which brings down 'The Feminine Touch' by quite a bit. There is wit and sophistication in parts but more often than not there could have been much more than both, and it felt over-stuffed and like there was more than one writer with different and clashing styles were involved.
It, the script that is (though the story applies too) also could have done with a tightening up and trim, the film is too talk-heavy and in quite a waffling way which bogs down the momentum for a film that was already suffering from having not enough to it in terms of story. A story that furthermore could have done with an opening up of the drama and felt like stagy, and one that is very predictable and gets excessively silly to the point of implausibility. The cast do their best to make the characters work and have great chemistry together, but the characters are pretty shallow generally. The attitudes are interesting for the time but seem a bit out of date now.
Overall, watchable but odd. 5/10
Sadly, while still watchable, 'The Feminine Touch' could have been so much better. Have seen quite a few odd films recently, but 'The Feminine Touch' has to be up there with the oddest. Not awful by any stretch, but considering the talent involved it had the potential to be a great film and instead isn't even a good one. If it works for people, that's cool as there is enough to it to not be too hard to understand any appeal it may have to others. In my mind though, it is more understandable if the film doesn't click for people.
Of course there are merits, otherwise it wouldn't be called watchable by me. It looks great, with the one exception of that unintentionally creepy hat (one might consider that a bit of a nit-pick though). The photography and settings though are the epitome of sophisticated, colourful elegence. A bit standout is the dream sequence, a wildly imaginative sequence in all senses and not just visually (not one to forget in a hurry). The music is sumptuous, in unmistakable Franz Waxman style, without being too melodramatic or intrusive. There are witty and charming moments sprinkled throughout and one does wish that there were more and that they came more consistently.
What primarily saves 'The Feminine Touch' is the cast. Ameche completely succeeds in making his somewhat idiotic character just about work, because he was just so charming and suave as he often was in general. Francis sparkles like a shining star and Heflin surprisingly doesn't play his rather neurotic part too heavily, which would have been so easy to do.
Didn't think though that Russell was quite as strong and personally was a little more conflicted on her, she gives her absolute all but somehow the role didn't seem quite right for her. It is agreed that it it was almost as if she was not the first choice initially and was brought in as replacement. The script is drastically uneven, which brings down 'The Feminine Touch' by quite a bit. There is wit and sophistication in parts but more often than not there could have been much more than both, and it felt over-stuffed and like there was more than one writer with different and clashing styles were involved.
It, the script that is (though the story applies too) also could have done with a tightening up and trim, the film is too talk-heavy and in quite a waffling way which bogs down the momentum for a film that was already suffering from having not enough to it in terms of story. A story that furthermore could have done with an opening up of the drama and felt like stagy, and one that is very predictable and gets excessively silly to the point of implausibility. The cast do their best to make the characters work and have great chemistry together, but the characters are pretty shallow generally. The attitudes are interesting for the time but seem a bit out of date now.
Overall, watchable but odd. 5/10