Review of M (1931) by Stefan N — 23 Aug 2013
Immediately within the first few minutes of "M," you get to notice Fritz Lang's effort in telling the story in a less direct manner but through the use of making the audience his puppets.
The film is about the hunt for a child murderer by the police and the mob. Peter Lorre's performance as the criminal himself is one of the greatest male performances of all time. The script itself has such a powerful message: Is murder a mentally-ill person's fault? The suspense in the film rivals that of the great Alfred Hitchcock.
What is original is that we do not fear a psychopathic child murderer, but fear that he will not be imprisoned. Lang drags us into the angry mob asking for his head. When he reveals that he is mentally-ill, we feel bad for hating him throughout the first three quarters.
"M" is a perfect mystery drama with an amazing performance by Peter Lorre, clever direction, and depth.
This review of M (1931) was written by Stefan N on 23 Aug 2013.
M has generally received very positive reviews.
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