SHOES has all the power of the best short stories with its brisk pace and simple story: a young woman supporting her impoverished family desperately needs a new pair of shoes. And not for fashion's sake: her boots are literally falling apart, leaving her prey to splinters and rain. On her feet at work all day, she spends her evenings with her sore feet in a water basin while she fills the thin soles with cardboard. The physical and emotional pain of the lead is palpable in Mary Maclaren's anguished but stoic performance, which serves as the heart of the film.
But director Lois Weber is no slouch either. She keeps this simple tale going with an assured touch, and allows us to intimately understand her heroine's daily life and deepest desires. When the ending comes, Weber doesn't go for melodrama-- instead, she treats her heroine with empathy and not as a "fallen woman" who deserves punishment just for doing what she has to do to get by. Life goes on and the heroine will go on-- as will Weber's reputation as one of the finest directors of the 1910s.
But director Lois Weber is no slouch either. She keeps this simple tale going with an assured touch, and allows us to intimately understand her heroine's daily life and deepest desires. When the ending comes, Weber doesn't go for melodrama-- instead, she treats her heroine with empathy and not as a "fallen woman" who deserves punishment just for doing what she has to do to get by. Life goes on and the heroine will go on-- as will Weber's reputation as one of the finest directors of the 1910s.