Review of The Quiet Man (1952) by Stuart M — 16 Dec 2013

Very much a film of its time this movie is just a grand show of patronizing misogyny. Aside from the silly Irish traditions (treated humorously) the moment when you know that the couple are over their problems is when John Wayne orders his wife to cook him dinner and she cheerfully obeys.

Sexism in films doesn't usually bother me this much, but it's all played for laughs which makes it oh so much worse. Everything from butt slapping to grabbing his wife and throwing her into bed is treated as a grand game.

At one point a priest even tell O'Hara off for slapping Wayne since she should wait til they're married so he can hit back. Yuck. There is a certain extent to which older films must be judged by their own cultural standards and the viewer's own prejudices forgotten, but this entire film is in such poor taste that its appeal is entirely lost to a modern audience.

There is a certain extent to which I can respect this film aesthetically, but on the whole I can't bring myself to like characters who come from such a macho culture that I cannot understand them.