The original novel for this movie is one of my favorites. The original novel is nearly 700 pages long, and this 82-minute film actually cuts most of the original content, especially (I think) the essence of the book: the male protagonist's exploration of the meaning of life and trying to understand why life can be so tortured, aka the meaning of life and why life is such a torment. Almost all of the major life changes of the male protagonist in the book occurred at the moment of discovery of this exploration, such as the emptiness of religion, the importance of money, the choice of career, the impact of mature partners and intimacy on adult life and many more.
Of course, a good movie does not necessarily need to fully follow the original book, nor is it possible to include all the original content in the length of the movie, not to mention that a movie that shows too much knowledge of the original book is often offensive. A good movie depends more on its own character, such as casting, script, performance, soundtrack, shooting techniques, etc. This movie actually does a very good job in these aspects (except for the script and lines).
Although the heroine Betty Davis is an American (it is said that before starring in the film, she hired a London maid and practiced Cockney accent with her every day), but she did interpret the vulgarity, debauchery, superficiality and ignorance of Mildred in the book 's three points into the wood. Especially in the scene where Philip took her out to drink champagne for the first time, the pronunciation of "Champagne" and the pretentiousness of drinking champagne with his head down and eyes closed is simply amazing! One of the best performances in the film.
In the book, Mildred is a spell that Philip could never get rid of. Until the end, Philip did not understand why he fell in love with such a vicious woman; why every time he saw her, he was willing to be cheap; why after she had done so many things that he despised, he would still be there When I caught a glimpse of the back of a woman like Mildred on the street, I chased after him like a fool for a long time. This picture hangs on the wall of Philip's home in the movie:
The painting on the wall should be the Grande Odalisque of Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres copied by the male protagonist :
The nude woman in the painting is the concubine of a certain monarch. Whenever Mildred is present at Philip's home, or is mentioned at Philip's home, the painting seems to be in the footage. When this painting was published, some critics criticized that the physiological structure of the naked woman did not conform to the anatomical facts, but there is also a theory that since the main function of the concubine is for the monarch to vent his sexual desires, this kind of abnormality is not normal. The physical structure is just the highlight of the sexual element in the painting. In the film, Mildred and this painting are frequently placed in the same picture, which has to make people think about it, and put them in a similar position. Mildred has always been in the habit of exchanging his body for resources, but Philip is too sad to really fall in love with such a scumbag, willing to do "licking the dog" again and again.
At the end of the film Mildred dies of poverty, prostitution and disease. This should be the biggest difference between the movie and the book, apart from the cuts in the plot. In fact, the book does not explicitly account for Mildred's death, only that Mildred contracted syphilis because of working as a prostitute, and Philip never saw her again in London after helping her for the last time. Compared with the movie, Philip in the book seems to have more initiative in breaking away from the shackles of "women and lust". He first left Mildred and developed a healthy, loving family relationship with Sally (his last wife) and then he and Sally got together. In the book, Philip is about to leave the UK and is also inspired by the artists he met in Paris, to go to the far east to explore the mysteries of art and the meaning of life.
But in the movie, Philip wants to stay away from home because of Mildred and become a sea doctor; it is also because he knows that after Mildred is dead, he decides to stay in the UK and proposes to Sally, saying that he is finally "free". Although I can't help thinking from the book that Mildred should be dead soon, but the film is shot in this way, I feel that it misinterprets the author's intentions, which is called a failure. In this way, the theme of the shackles of human nature has been completely turned into romance - Mildred is the embodiment of passion and desire, Nora is the spare tire when you are sad and disappointed, and Sally is a flat compromise after seeing all the prosperity.
But the movie is originally a mass entertainment, so as long as it is "good-looking", I don't think it is necessary to dig too much into the original. After all, what I expected a movie to do was bring some fresh faces and scenes to my barren imagination, and this movie did. Thanks to Leslie Howard for her gorgeous look and Betty Davis for her bitchy performance.
This poster was definitely considered pornographic back then. Five years after the movie was released, the movie "Gone with the Wind" was released. The passionate "rape" scene between Reid and Scarlett was considered pornographic at the time. Not to mention the big breasts here.
The characters of the three people are all very accurate. The frivolity of Mildred, the awkwardness and melancholy of the male protagonist (right), and the frivolity of Harry (left) are all in this picture.
This still photo also tells a story: it was the male protagonist (left) who invited his good friend Harry (middle) and his girlfriend to dinner, how did the two of them get together in the end?
The male protagonist is really not suitable for grinning. Shut up, we are still friends...
But the movie is originally a mass entertainment, so as long as it is "good-looking", I don't think it is necessary to dig too much into the original. After all, what I expected a movie to do was bring some fresh faces and scenes to my barren imagination, and this movie did. Thanks to Leslie Howard for her gorgeous look, and Betty Davis for her bitchy performance. .
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