A Double Life (1947) :
Brief Review -
Depressing and devastating consequences of Shakespeare's Othello terrifically mastered by Ronald Colman. When it comes to the film which has protagonist playing an artist, you know our expectations go far ahead and different than usual. And then when you realise that it is gonna be a stage actor and the story revolves around a play like "Othello", you know what to expect. Naturally, it won't be the same old stuff. If you agree with it then let's go ahead with the story. A celebrated actor who is passionate about the roles he plays struggles to distinguish his own life from that of his most recent stage role, Othello. The script is not that unconvincing but the conflicts are. The most unconvincing thing is that messy Romance between Anthony and Brita. Both love each other, they were married once and got divorced but still love each other and aren't gonna marry again. That was some mess you see. One of the weak factor in the film is this only that the writer really fails to generate emotions for the leading pair. Individually, they look stable but together they look unstable and scattered. For instance, the actress could have got some other fella after the divorce but she didn't go for the one who actually love her and then at last she even admits that Anthony doesn't really need "HER". On the other side, Anthony is having a secret romance with some bar girl and there we predict the entire story as we all know what happens in Othello. Forgiving the mess, i think A Double Life still makes an interesting and intense drama from the average script. Colman's terrific performance is the major highlight and Cukor's direction is exceptional. I only feel sorry for Cukor who was a good director but didn't always get good scripts. His Inconsistency is less hateful than his choice of films. Overall, a Fine Drama.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.
Depressing and devastating consequences of Shakespeare's Othello terrifically mastered by Ronald Colman. When it comes to the film which has protagonist playing an artist, you know our expectations go far ahead and different than usual. And then when you realise that it is gonna be a stage actor and the story revolves around a play like "Othello", you know what to expect. Naturally, it won't be the same old stuff. If you agree with it then let's go ahead with the story. A celebrated actor who is passionate about the roles he plays struggles to distinguish his own life from that of his most recent stage role, Othello. The script is not that unconvincing but the conflicts are. The most unconvincing thing is that messy Romance between Anthony and Brita. Both love each other, they were married once and got divorced but still love each other and aren't gonna marry again. That was some mess you see. One of the weak factor in the film is this only that the writer really fails to generate emotions for the leading pair. Individually, they look stable but together they look unstable and scattered. For instance, the actress could have got some other fella after the divorce but she didn't go for the one who actually love her and then at last she even admits that Anthony doesn't really need "HER". On the other side, Anthony is having a secret romance with some bar girl and there we predict the entire story as we all know what happens in Othello. Forgiving the mess, i think A Double Life still makes an interesting and intense drama from the average script. Colman's terrific performance is the major highlight and Cukor's direction is exceptional. I only feel sorry for Cukor who was a good director but didn't always get good scripts. His Inconsistency is less hateful than his choice of films. Overall, a Fine Drama.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.