Letter from an Unknown Woman
(B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
'Letter from an Unknown Woman' (directed by Max Ophuls) stars lovely Joan Fontaine as a woman who falls deeply in love with a self-absorbed concert pianist. Set in Vienna in 1900, the tale is told in a complex flashback narrative framework as the pianist, Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), receives a letter written to him by Lisa Berndl (Fontaine), who has been in love with him for many years. At the onset of the film, we see that Stefan is in the process of fleeing Vienna on the eve of fighting a deadly duel. It is as he prepares for the duel where he reads the fateful letter, which begins, "By the time you read this letter, I may be dead". As Stefan sits back in his study, lights a cigarette, & furrows his brow while reading this letter, it turns out to be an unabashed confession of unrequited love from Lisa to him.
The story then flashes back to when Lisa was 14 yrs. old & Stefan happened to be her new neighbor in the same apartment house. After following Stefan around with a girlish obsession, the obsession turns to love, and much to her pleasant surprise, they even have a brief encounter one night a few years later. Stefan is a bit of a womanizer (saying the same things to each woman he plans to bed), but he seems very taken with Lisa. After their one-night romantic tryst, Stefan promises to come back to her after a 2-week concert tour ... but he never does. Meanwhile, Lisa marries another man when she discovers that she is pregnant with Stefan's son. When she runs into Stefan some 10 or so years later, he doesn't appear to remember her & even tries to seduce her much in the same way he had to many women (including her that 1st encounter). After Stefan concludes the letter, he wants to run to Lisa, but tragedy looms.
I was privy to the tragic nature of this film before I saw it, but boy, now I REALLY know why they call it a "weepie" {have your tissues ready, folks}. If I have to take a few points away from my rating of this motion picture, it's due to the somewhat implausible, sometimes saccharine execution. But my complaints end there. 'LFAUW' benefits from the 2 achingly beautiful performances by our leads. Joan Fontaine is wonderful as Lisa, progressing from a shy 14 yr. old (pulls it off very well) into an elegant society woman in her late 20s. Fontaine cuts to the heart, using her expressive face & usual restraint in making us feel for this character. And Louis Jourdan is excellent as Stefan. Though he's clearly a compulsive womanizer, his charisma/charms/good-natured demeanor prevents us from loathing him.
Max Ophuls is a stylish European director who helms, frames & dresses up 'Letter from an Unknown Woman' with atmosphere, warmth, & old-world European flair which perfectly captures the mood of turn-of-the-century Vienna. The black-&-white cinematography is striking (great angles & use of shadows). The sets & period costumes are impeccable; you'd never know that it was filmed in Hollywood. Some people may not be able to cope with the notion of a lead female protagonist who is too vulnerable & weak-willed to overcome her blind love for a man. But Ophuls (and his screenwriter) enable these characters to be SO sincere and SO believable as real people who are flawed/cursed by fate, that they both completely earn out pity.
Interestingly enough, you can look at our protagonist in two very differing ways. You can view her as a portrait of sad, unrequited love; spending most of her life overwhelmed by Stefan (heck, she runs away from everyone & everything just to be near him). She waits & yearns for him to recognize her unfailing devotion. As a tragic lovelorn heroine, that all sounds a bit pathetic. However, you can also view Lisa as a sort of champion on love. Despite his womanizing ways, she falls in love with Stefan because of his talent & his inherent decency as a human being. Is she a bit foolhardy? Maybe. But her adoring devotion to this man and all that he is also goes to show the power of her love and how strong she must be to follow her heart at any price.
The story then flashes back to when Lisa was 14 yrs. old & Stefan happened to be her new neighbor in the same apartment house. After following Stefan around with a girlish obsession, the obsession turns to love, and much to her pleasant surprise, they even have a brief encounter one night a few years later. Stefan is a bit of a womanizer (saying the same things to each woman he plans to bed), but he seems very taken with Lisa. After their one-night romantic tryst, Stefan promises to come back to her after a 2-week concert tour ... but he never does. Meanwhile, Lisa marries another man when she discovers that she is pregnant with Stefan's son. When she runs into Stefan some 10 or so years later, he doesn't appear to remember her & even tries to seduce her much in the same way he had to many women (including her that 1st encounter). After Stefan concludes the letter, he wants to run to Lisa, but tragedy looms.
I was privy to the tragic nature of this film before I saw it, but boy, now I REALLY know why they call it a "weepie" {have your tissues ready, folks}. If I have to take a few points away from my rating of this motion picture, it's due to the somewhat implausible, sometimes saccharine execution. But my complaints end there. 'LFAUW' benefits from the 2 achingly beautiful performances by our leads. Joan Fontaine is wonderful as Lisa, progressing from a shy 14 yr. old (pulls it off very well) into an elegant society woman in her late 20s. Fontaine cuts to the heart, using her expressive face & usual restraint in making us feel for this character. And Louis Jourdan is excellent as Stefan. Though he's clearly a compulsive womanizer, his charisma/charms/good-natured demeanor prevents us from loathing him.
Max Ophuls is a stylish European director who helms, frames & dresses up 'Letter from an Unknown Woman' with atmosphere, warmth, & old-world European flair which perfectly captures the mood of turn-of-the-century Vienna. The black-&-white cinematography is striking (great angles & use of shadows). The sets & period costumes are impeccable; you'd never know that it was filmed in Hollywood. Some people may not be able to cope with the notion of a lead female protagonist who is too vulnerable & weak-willed to overcome her blind love for a man. But Ophuls (and his screenwriter) enable these characters to be SO sincere and SO believable as real people who are flawed/cursed by fate, that they both completely earn out pity.
Interestingly enough, you can look at our protagonist in two very differing ways. You can view her as a portrait of sad, unrequited love; spending most of her life overwhelmed by Stefan (heck, she runs away from everyone & everything just to be near him). She waits & yearns for him to recognize her unfailing devotion. As a tragic lovelorn heroine, that all sounds a bit pathetic. However, you can also view Lisa as a sort of champion on love. Despite his womanizing ways, she falls in love with Stefan because of his talent & his inherent decency as a human being. Is she a bit foolhardy? Maybe. But her adoring devotion to this man and all that he is also goes to show the power of her love and how strong she must be to follow her heart at any price.