Review of The Third Man (1949) by Miguel C — 29 Jun 2012
Name a movie that has a forgettably bad story but has been exonerated by every movie critic ever simply because of cinematography and a short performance from Orson Welles: The Third Man. The main character does not care about the case he's trying to solve, and neither does anyone else, making it aggravating to sit through, especially when Orson Welles doesn't even show up until the movie's halfway through.
In fact, Orson Welles' character showing up is a massive contrivence, considering he just shows up when the main character is too bored to get anywhere in the case. Graham Greene as a writer does not understand character motivations, and in a noir film, lacking motivation is death.
We have to be told that he has motivation with some generic morality bullshit (deformed babies from bad penicillin injections), but clearly doesn't. In fact, the way Joseph Cotton portrays his character, he seems like the textbook definition of a main character being dragged through it's story.
It's not tense or riveting like other classic noir films like Chinatown, The Maltese Falcon, and Sunset Boulevard (all films with protagonists with clear motivations), and cinematography and one short performance from Orson Welles cannot hold up a film, let alone make it be considered a classic.
Cinematography in a general sense if you're into the story becomes ignored, and Orson Welles being the only breath of fresh air this boring pedantic movie makes it painful to sit through, especially when one of the tensest scenes include two of the main characters being chased by a toddler and a stupid crowd who can't keep up with it.
The only scene that holds any tension is the last chase scene with Orson Welles, but only because you want to see Orson Welles survive. When your noir film has me rooting for the villain instead of the clear albeit generic morally driven protagonist of the movie because he's that fucking tedious to watch, you don't deserve to be called a okay film noir, let alone one of the genre's defining classics.
This review of The Third Man (1949) was written by Miguel C on 29 Jun 2012.
The Third Man has generally received very positive reviews.
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