Review of Murder, My Sweet (1944) by Jonathan H — 07 Oct 2004

Murder, My Sweet -.

Not the epitome of noir, but it is the epitome of the Raymond Chandler/Daschell Hammet mystery. A slowly unfolding plot with a main character that gets tossed from one sordid affair to another. Noteworthy for the style that the Coen brothers used for the Big Lebowski, this also features an old, rich gentleman with a younger, promiscuous wife. The story could afford to be a bit less expository, but generally the film works very well, with occasionally great photography. Dick Powell is more Philip Marlowe than Humphrey Bogart, which is certainly no great criticism of Bogey's performance. There are some scenes in this film where you can just smell the sex.

Jean Vigo's Á Propos De Nice -.

A short, experimental film that is, in retrospect, a rather clumsy critique of the bourgeoisie. The tilts that were certainly provocative and odd back then look like a kid playing with the camera nowadays. But that's just a few of the experiments that he does, however - the other's are more successful. There is one tracking shot where the camera moves over the pavement that was very pleasing indeed. If I had seen this on a high-quality dvd instead of an old VHS tape, my feelings toward this would probably be stronger.