Film Reviews by RS

If I didn’t know who the director of ‘The Ring’ was I would not have thought of Hitchcock. This is not a drama of crime and suspense. Instead we have a love triangle between a fairground boxer, his wife and the heavyweight champion of Australia. Hitchcock makes effective use of the expressionist techniques he learned in Germany. And there is much to admire in the storytelling. It’s one of the best British silent films of its time. 

Not everyone will be impressed with  this stylish noir directed by the great Robert Rossen. It’s essentially a dance around  between Dick Powell, a tough self assured hoodlum  and Lee J Cob’s determined cop. Some my find the action rather dull. It’s strength lies in  and a tight script full of hard boiled noir dialogue and fine performances, especially from the leads. 

I enjoyed this movie despite its portrayal of nearly all men as two dimensional cardboard cutouts - sordid little creeps. It could and should have been better scripted. The upside is a superb performance by Carey Mulligan, sharp, funny, quirky, moving, riveting. Most of the other women characters are excellent too. It’s very different from the average (male) revenge movies with the inevitable high body counts. But it’s a very uneven film to watch.