Review of Cavalcade (1933) by Matthew C — 13 Jun 2012

This is a difficult movie to give a certain number of stars too, simply because it ranges all over. The film is dripping with agenda but also has moments of lazy play adaptation. Yet on the flip side, the film is enhanced by great scenes of tragedy and humor and family.

The central core of Brook and Wynyard should have been even more of a focus as they deal with the tragedies that befall them over a thirty year span. The film is very much aware of how hard and yet how exciting it was to be alive at the turn of the century; a century that at its onset was assaulted by conflict.

It does live up to its name but the film is lost at times in its portrayal of a crazy world. When it gets it right, when its personal, and especially when Auld Lang Syne is being sung, the film strikes the right cord.