Review of A Double Life (1947) by Indi V — 22 Aug 2014

Anyone with an interest in acting or theater should see this movie. It's very intriguing.

The plot of the film is about an actor who gets so involved with a role (in this case, Othello), that he loses his grip on reality. This movie came out a few years before Brando and method acting made a big splash in movies, but it's easy to see how an actor could lose themselves in such a role. Daniel Day-Lewis, for one, is famous for his level of investment, and given the characters he's played, we should be grateful he hasn't snapped yet.

The actor in question is played by Ronald Colman, a bit of a shame his Oscar win for this film isn't brought up too much, because it's one of the most well deserved wins in the category. Colman is spot on, making his transition feel natural and realistic, something the characters in the film stress when they discuss Desdemona's death scene. It really is a fascinating performance by Colman.

The rest of the movie, while adequate, isn't firing on the same cylinders Colman is. Most of the newspaper men and policeman come off as bad stereotypes, but thankfully they're not around all that much. No, this is the Ronald Colman show and he doesn't knock it out of the park, he knocks it into the next state.