Review of Dark Passage (1947) by Elli S — 17 Dec 2009
Davie's Dark Passage is a unique entry in the history of film noir because the first third of it is shot from a first-person perspective. In the initial portion of the film, we follow the actions of an escaped convict from his point of view.
Eventually, he undergoes a plastic surgery procedure in order to escape detection and finally we are introduced to the character from an omniscient POV. Bogart and Bacall smolder together as usual in a film noir that actually allows its character to develop some genuine emotional depth.
A powerful, fun, and hard-boiled exploration of identity, obsession, and deception, Dark Passage is a film noir necessity that may lag a bit as it continues with its first-person POV experiments but that makes up for it with an innovative plot and complex characters.
This review of Dark Passage (1947) was written by Elli S on 17 Dec 2009.
Dark Passage has generally received positive reviews.
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