Review of Jacob's Ladder (1942) by Derek R — 08 Aug 2009

Weird. Most of this movie is confusing and nonsensical. It has a straightforward plot, but nothing about it makes any kind of sense until the end, when you're given the always sought after "a ha!" scene that's supposed to connect all the dots and make the last 2 hours not seem like a complete waste of time. This movie has that, sort of.

I enjoyed it, though. It's very well directed and acted, and the imagery is interesting and occasionally disturbing. The only qualm I have with it is the director's attempt to wrap it up in logic at the end. The whole film is really just a ***SPOILER*** metaphorical struggle for one man's soul between the forces of heaven and hell; ***END SPOILER**** their decision to include a "plausible" explanation to it all near the end via "science" feels forced and unnecessary. Why couldn't they have just left it as it was, or made it a bit more ambiguous?

Either way, it's a good film. Weird. Reminded me of a lot of horror films that have come out in the last 10 years or so.