Review of Out of the Past (1947) by Gleb I — 25 Nov 2009
A film noir by esscence, "Out of the past" is the prime example of the detective story and the femme fatale. Jeff (Robert Mitchum) is hired by a rich mobster named Whit (kirk Douglas) to retrieve his woman kathie (Jane Greer) who just ran away with loads of money... and this is where the story onfolds in a web of lies, deception and murder.
The characters in Out of the past lie in the line of moral ambiguity and this movie its one clear incarnation of the phrase "Women should not be trusted" as Kathie seems to "run the show" as she pleases while playing the victim role, attitude wich seems just right to stand up right with the men's strong personalities. Jeff goes from and honest man to some kind of runaway who seeks to get out of the plot by screwing and blackmailing his framers.The only exception amongst the dark characters would be Jeff's fiance Ann (Virginia Houston) who incarnates the undyling love that endures and trusts over all... and even her gets to face reality at some point.
The plot and the dialogues are extremely intelligent and classy.
Kathie -"I don't wanna die".
Jeff -"Neither do I baby, but If I have to I'm gonna die last".
And the ambience is just what you would expect of a great film noir... smoke clouds, dark rooms, chiaroscuros.. all of this enchanced by a perfect photography direction. The plot turns and unexpected situations are well placed and dramatic (some current directors/screenwriters can take a lesson or two from this film).
Just give it a chance... dark cold rainy night, a pizza, lights off and you have got the perfect situation for this jewel of the classic cinema.
This review of Out of the Past (1947) was written by Gleb I on 25 Nov 2009.
Out of the Past has generally received very positive reviews.
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