Review of The Night of the Hunter (1955) by Lee W — 05 Jul 2012

I honestly don't understand all the love for this film. There's some really ham-fisted directing in parts and there's nothing remotely compelling about it. I love Mitchum, but his character in this had no serious motivation or consistency. Did we really need to see him make a fist at the burlesque show? We get it. He's angry. And what's with the clumsy exposition consisting of Robert Mitchum's monologue as he speaks to God about his crimes? Also, if we're supposed to believe that he's this badass killing machine, how come 2 kids and an old woman defeated him rather easily?

The nighttime petting zoo along the riverbanks as the children make their escape is baffling as well. Look a spider! Look a frog! Look, bunnies! Look, it's the same shot every time! It would be cool of there were some symbolic meaning to it, but there wasn't. It was just random animals, probably borrowed from a local pet store, placed in the foreground of some very pedestrian shots.

In the end, we get no inside info on what makes Harper tick and no backstory on his preacher personae. The only thing that semi-saves it is Mitchum's intensity. Other than that the character falls completely flat.