Review of The Naked City (1948) by Mereie D — 12 Jul 2010

Another masterpiece by the director of â??Rififiâ??, Jules Dassin. â??The Naked Cityâ?? is so many things at the same time: a tribute to late-forties New York City and its people, a contemporary crime movie, a kind of mockumentary.

And strangely enough, it works on all levels. The crime story is decent and suspenseful, the admiration of New York is genuine and heartfelt. At the same time, though, the distant, jocular tone of voiceover (by Mark Hellinger, with a modest yet audible New York accent) emphasizes it is also good fun and shouldnâ??t be taken too heavily.

One level of the movie rises above the other, as it were. It is this meta-level that provides â??The Naked Cityâ?? with character. The same sort of ambivalence can be seen in the characters: they are true to life (in a fictional sense at least), but they also look like caricatures (the down-to-earth New York police inspectors from Irish descent, the â??donâ??t-mess-with-meâ?? wrestlers, the children playing in the street, the distraught and/or gullible women, the out-of-town parents of the murder victim, etc.

, etc.). I very much appreciated the way the voiceover commented on the various stages of the work done by the police, but suddenly changed perspective towards the end, when it appears to take sides with the killer on the run (in a stunning chase scene across the city, ending on the top of a bridge).

Dassin really has some artistic talents. I rated this movie 4 stars, but like with â??Rififiâ??, Iâ??ve got the feeling it could deserve more after several viewings.