Right out of the gate, I could see a few things. This was going to be really interesting from a technical standpoint, and it looked awesome. Then, the story unfolded. This movie is a banger. It’s an easy 5/5, 10/10, whatever rating system you want. It’s a classic for some real obvious reasons, but the story is no slouch. It hits you emotionally, guiding you with the score, and leading to what holds up quite differently now, I suspect, than it did originally.
Immediately, I was struck by the different tones for different locations. Blue for nighttime outdoors, sepia for flashbacks (did it originate here?) and plain old grayscale for current times. Then, holy shit, we get the carriage. This is 1921! The carriage was beautifully done with the semi-opaque ghosting effect. We have layered film here, and it seemed like it was shot to perfection. When souls left their bodies, it looked perfectly set up. The look was enough to make me want to watch entirely. I was fascinated by what I was seeing and I could clock immediately why this movie is as highly regarded as it is.
This movie is filled with emotional turns. The biggest is about midway through. We already know David is dead, we know that he is now going to be the carriage driver, we know that also-dying Edit is calling for him, but we don’t know how we got here. The first story told is how David and Edit came to know each other. It’s also just the next indicator that David is shit. He shreds the coat Edit had sent all night repairing for him, after seemingly being ready to accept her grace and maybe turn a new leaf over. At this point, he probably was redeemable. But, he is David Holm, who is filled with grievances and resentment. He is the emotional terrorist infecting otherwise good people. Hell, he even literally infected people. As seen at the Salvation Army rally, he approaches another woman who is infected and tells her he’s done it intentionally to people. He even lays out his worldview (something that seems to match that of a very vocal movement right now) that why should anyone else enjoy life if he can’t. She looks at him with horror and contempt, and rushes away to be saved by the Army instead of infected by this stain.
The score guides you expertly through the emotional shifts. It takes dramatic turns, starting with the shredding of the coat. The music went directly from tender and loving to stark, harsh, and angry. This is a score and movie I would love to see performed live. Love isn’t a strong enough word. If I have any influence in the local world of the arts (I absolutely do not) it would be to get this done by the Reno Chamber Orchestra or some condensed version of it on a stage in Reno.
About halfway through, I was done assessing and sure about my rating. It was already an incredible movie. From there, I laughed at some of the bits, like when the rotoscope closed down to a small shot of David and he, of course, faced with a decision to be good or bad, goes bad, then the scope closes. It was a funny bit, even knowing what would happen.
I was a bit mad at the ending. I suspect I have a much more modern reading of the message and the character. It reflects my huge problem with religion. David Holm, in literally the last second of his life, is allowed to make amends. What? He was a plainly awful person. Irredeemable, in my mind. He had already infected one person with his disease – a person who showed him only love and kindness – who he refused to visit despite it being her deathbed request. He made the wrong choice at every opportunity, and even made some opportunities up just so he could make the wrong choice there too! He should not get salvation. He sucked. I disliked that a lot, but I also understand it was a different time and probably a very different view of religion in that society then.
Overall, just like I said at the top. This is a banger with forever-type pull. It’s a classic, an all-timer. The film effects and coloring were beautiful and revolutionary. The score added emotion and drama gorgeously. It is a rewatch for sure, and maybe one that gets some regular love. This was an awesome movie.
Now, a few observations:
The Salvation Army
- Women are doing the work
- Advising people
- Counseling people about their lives
- This portrayal is fascinating and I wonder if it’s accurate
“Slum” imagery
- Edit wears a hat labeled “slum”
- Edit was part of a Salvation Army “slum station”
- Unsure if “slum” as a term came from this context
- When she wears the hat: strong Ilsa Faust vibes (complimentary)
Here’s a story I’d like to see
- the worst guy dies at the stroke of midnight, etc. just like this. Only:
- his purgatory is driving the carriage
- each night doesn’t end until he completes his rounds, so it could feel so much longer than a year, especially because he’s all mopey about it for a while about
- At the end, he’s redeemed, because he has had to endure enough to have earned it (
- I am not Catholic, but I have known a few
- Yes, I’m in therapy
- This is probably a regurgitated plot line from something very obvious that I have seen
- Or at least it’s unoriginal, but it was a desire of mine during the movie
- Finally, I do realize how this particular section of this review makes me strikingly similar to David Holm. Noted and will be explored. )
Other notes
- Kubrick very obviously took inspiration for The Shining’s axe scene from this movie, and possibly even the effects of alcoholism on a family. I can’t find any evidence that Kubrick acknowledged this, though. I hope he did.
- I got this idea of, without a better way to describe it myself, ghosts showing people their lives to save their souls, and is this the first movie to do that? Clearly this idea was in books, and without many other literary references I thought of Dickens. This is a common theme in movies, and I give respect to the one who tried it first.
- Alternate title When a Republican moves into the neighborhood
Finally, I would have preferred this ending
- Wife poisons the kids and herself
- Everyone dies
- He rots in hell (deserved)
- I understand why it wasn’t done in 1921
- See: above parenthetical