Review of Gaslight (1944) by Ian C — 22 Aug 2009

This one's been on my list of movies I probably should've seen by now for a long time, and I can finally take it off the list as of tonight. It wasn't at all like I thought it would be, and in many ways it's a good thing, and one or two ways, it's not.

Ingrid Bergman, in an Oscar-winning performance, portrays a young wife slowly and methodically being driven mad by her husband, one of the viler villains I've seen. Why her husband is trying to drive her mad will be disappointingly easy to figure out, and the "how" doesn't take much longer to guess. Still, you really feel sorry for Bergman and what her bastard of a husband puts her through (I have a very intense loathing for spouse/significant-other abusers).

The most disturbing thing about how the husband whittles away at her isn't the over-the-top methods he uses to freak her out - it's the subtle, simple ones. He makes her think she's forgetful, or that she hides things (sometimes in public, humiliating her in the process), and he keeps her isolated from everyone and everything, rarely letting her leave their house. I hear this is common among spouse abusers, and that makes his behavior all the more twisted. It's certainly a more effective way of making you hate the guy than the more theatrical methods he uses to try and convince her she's nuts.

Also noteworthy about "Gaslight" is that it's Angela Lansbury's debut film, and one for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. As someone who grew up with "Murder She Wrote," it's always interesting to see her in her younger roles (she was quite a looker back in the day). I'd have liked some closure as far as her character's concerned, but considering she's a rookie at this point, she does a remarkable job of holding her own against veteran actors.

This is a very effective and chilling psychological drama, and even though you'll be able to figure out the how and the why, it's the "how is she going to get out of this?" that'll keep you hooked. Boosted by eerie cinematography and spectacular performances, this was a movie definitely worth seeing.