Review of The Thin Man (1934) by Phillip K — 28 Sep 2010
It's old and in black-and-white, but you know what? It's funnier than just about any comedy I've seen that's come out recently (save kid's movies and stuff). It was one of the first movies to break the stereotypical house-wife character and did a damn good job of it. William Powell and Myrna Loy create a lovable on screed couple that is much more believable than that of most others. They're comfortable with each other, sarcastic, playful, and witty. They are friends in real life and the chemistry really showed on screen.
After spending a large quantity of the movie letting you fall in love with these characters, they took a darker turn toward film noir (that's my intro to movies class shining through for you) and let some suspense build. The suspense was heightened since we've learned to care for them over the course of the movie. That scene was done quite well. Some good darkness, enough light to see, but enough lack of light to see that that we can't see much and that we should be scared of what we can't see.
My one complaint is that I couldn't really tell any of the characters apart. They all pretty much looked and acted the same (except the main characters). So I couldn't really follow any of the mystery or the case itself. I was just taking people's word for it when they said what was going on.
As much as comedy isn't really my favorite genre, the comedy in this movie is its strongest element. It's definitely worth seeing just for that.
This review of The Thin Man (1934) was written by Phillip K on 28 Sep 2010.
The Thin Man has generally received very positive reviews.
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