Review of The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) by Corey M — 10 Dec 2008

I did not find the characters to be that interesting on their own, fairly one-dimensional, George is a douche, I get that. It only becomes interesting about three quarters into the film where the dynamic of how the two families have to interact shifts.

I thought that was interesting though the final scene after the narration is a cop-out. The thing I have found with Welles, that may be the reason why he is one of the greatest directors ever, is that he always worked to serve the story.

He could of had crazy Kane type of shots or Touch of Evil flashing lights, but he keeps a solid hand on the shots here. There are subtle shifts in the angling of the camera as the characters change, but he lets the characters reamin the highlight of the drama.

Solid if unspectacular movie, could have been more interesting if Cotten's character had been emphasized to represent the shifting of times.