Notorious (A or 4/4 stars)
Oh, I'm a happy guy this morning. I get to write my thoughts of a great movie which I finally saw last night -- it is Alfred Hitchcock's elegant romantic spy/thriller from 1946 ... 'Notorious'. The film stars Ingrid Bergman as Alicia Huberman, whose father has just been convicted as a Nazi spy post-WWII. Currently living in Miami, Alicia is known for drinking & apparent promiscuity but, proven to be a patriot of America (she refused to attend her father's trial), is reluctantly recruited by an American secret agent named Devlin (Cary Grant) to fly to Rio de Janeiro to insinuate herself into the household of a 'spy ring' led by one, Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains). Sebastian, a wealthy, old-time Nazi, knew her father back in the day, loved Alicia then ... and loves her now.
Alicia agrees to Devlin's eventual request to share Sebastian's bed so as to discover his secrets. She goes along with this scheme because: a) she wants to redeem her family name, to become a woman of good morals again, and b) by the time Devlin asks her to do this, they have entered into their own passionate affair & has fallen in love with him. By the time all of the pieces are in place, we almost feel sympathy for Sebastian. Though he's a spy (essentially a villain) ... he loves Alicia sincerely, while Devlin grapples with loving a 'notorious' woman and almost uses Alicia's love to force her into a sham marriage with a scoundrel.
But back to the plot. Now married, the Sebastian's mansion is filled with Nazi spies who hold secret meetings which involve the smuggling of uranium ore in wine bottle kept hidden in the locked wine cellar. Devlin worms his way into one of the Sebastian's lavish parties, gets Alicia to steal the wine cellar key from Alex's key ring, and hopes to sneak to said cellar to gather the evidence. But Devlin/Alicia's plans go awry when Alex finds them kissing and, later, discovers the missing wine cellar key from his ring. Melodrama ensues involving Alex's overbearing mother (a scary Leopoldine Konstantin), some arsenic, a rush to beat the clock, a damning revelation, and an ending which includes two characters descending a staircase to virtual freedom, and one character climbing steps to his apparent doom.
What a fantastic film. It's one of the few where I can say that I found no flaws (great writing by multi-award winner, Ben Hecht). And while this is essentially Ingrid Bergman's picture (she's exceptional in it), it also says a lot about its 2 main male characters. The script plays the 2 men against each other. Both men love Alicia, but the wrong man trusts her. It is only when Devlin becomes bold, enters the Sebastian mansion near the end, and finally allows himself to love Alicia (professing it to her in sweet whispers) where he is redeemed against the genuine affection of the villain, played brilliantly by Claude Rains.
Along with her amazing turn in 1978's Autumn Sonata, I consider this to be Ingrid Bergman's finest performance. She is the heroine of this story, and yet, SHE doubts herself all along the way. She knows she's a drunk, she knows she has a past, she's ashamed of her father, and now, she allows herself to sleep with Sebastian. She does it because she loves Devlin, more so even than for her desire to repair her image or become a better woman. Everything Bergman says or expresses in this film felt real; carnal; perfect. As for the romance aspect of 'Notorious', we are treated to the infamous "longest kiss in film history" scene which is actually incorrect. Because Hollywood's production code prevented kisses longer than 3 seconds, Hitchcock presents a scene in which Grant & Bergman kiss passionately, separate, chat, embrace, kiss, swoon, peck, chat, kiss, walk arm in arm, and finally separate. It's erotic, beautiful, and permissible in the code {haha}.
This film also contains incredibly imagery. I'm reminded of an early scene in which Alicia wakes from a hangover & there's a huge foreground close-up of a glass of Alka-Seltzer (which will be juxtaposed in a late scene in which a huge foreground coffee cup containing arsenic fills the screen). Hitchcock also plays with lighting. The more Alicia becomes convinced to take part in the spy scheme, the more her character is progressively shown from dark shadows into beaming light. The most famous shot begins with a camera (high on a crane) descending from the ceiling during the climactic party and zooming in tightly on Alicia's jittery hand as it grasps the all-important wine cellar key. And the last shot we see is perfect, followed by a Nazi saying, "Alex, will you come in, please. I wish to talk to you" -- so cool.
'Notorious' is just a 1st-rate film noir classic from a brilliant director. But I love that there are other elements to it than just boxing it in to 'film noir'. Sure, the film is loaded with your typical shadowy images. But 'Notorious' is also a twisted tale about love. It's about trust (who earns it, who can be trusted). It's about redemption. It's romantic (acting upon or holding back on one's desires). It's Hitchcock's most passionate film (even when no skin is shown). It has elements of melodrama. It contains mommy/son issues (Alex Sebastian is dominated by his mother. By the way, for as excellent as Cary Grant is in this movie, it is Claude Rain's suave, yet sad, near-neurotic portrayal of Alex Sebastian which wowed me more). And it's a great suspense film. 'Notorious' has it all.
Alicia agrees to Devlin's eventual request to share Sebastian's bed so as to discover his secrets. She goes along with this scheme because: a) she wants to redeem her family name, to become a woman of good morals again, and b) by the time Devlin asks her to do this, they have entered into their own passionate affair & has fallen in love with him. By the time all of the pieces are in place, we almost feel sympathy for Sebastian. Though he's a spy (essentially a villain) ... he loves Alicia sincerely, while Devlin grapples with loving a 'notorious' woman and almost uses Alicia's love to force her into a sham marriage with a scoundrel.
But back to the plot. Now married, the Sebastian's mansion is filled with Nazi spies who hold secret meetings which involve the smuggling of uranium ore in wine bottle kept hidden in the locked wine cellar. Devlin worms his way into one of the Sebastian's lavish parties, gets Alicia to steal the wine cellar key from Alex's key ring, and hopes to sneak to said cellar to gather the evidence. But Devlin/Alicia's plans go awry when Alex finds them kissing and, later, discovers the missing wine cellar key from his ring. Melodrama ensues involving Alex's overbearing mother (a scary Leopoldine Konstantin), some arsenic, a rush to beat the clock, a damning revelation, and an ending which includes two characters descending a staircase to virtual freedom, and one character climbing steps to his apparent doom.
What a fantastic film. It's one of the few where I can say that I found no flaws (great writing by multi-award winner, Ben Hecht). And while this is essentially Ingrid Bergman's picture (she's exceptional in it), it also says a lot about its 2 main male characters. The script plays the 2 men against each other. Both men love Alicia, but the wrong man trusts her. It is only when Devlin becomes bold, enters the Sebastian mansion near the end, and finally allows himself to love Alicia (professing it to her in sweet whispers) where he is redeemed against the genuine affection of the villain, played brilliantly by Claude Rains.
Along with her amazing turn in 1978's Autumn Sonata, I consider this to be Ingrid Bergman's finest performance. She is the heroine of this story, and yet, SHE doubts herself all along the way. She knows she's a drunk, she knows she has a past, she's ashamed of her father, and now, she allows herself to sleep with Sebastian. She does it because she loves Devlin, more so even than for her desire to repair her image or become a better woman. Everything Bergman says or expresses in this film felt real; carnal; perfect. As for the romance aspect of 'Notorious', we are treated to the infamous "longest kiss in film history" scene which is actually incorrect. Because Hollywood's production code prevented kisses longer than 3 seconds, Hitchcock presents a scene in which Grant & Bergman kiss passionately, separate, chat, embrace, kiss, swoon, peck, chat, kiss, walk arm in arm, and finally separate. It's erotic, beautiful, and permissible in the code {haha}.
This film also contains incredibly imagery. I'm reminded of an early scene in which Alicia wakes from a hangover & there's a huge foreground close-up of a glass of Alka-Seltzer (which will be juxtaposed in a late scene in which a huge foreground coffee cup containing arsenic fills the screen). Hitchcock also plays with lighting. The more Alicia becomes convinced to take part in the spy scheme, the more her character is progressively shown from dark shadows into beaming light. The most famous shot begins with a camera (high on a crane) descending from the ceiling during the climactic party and zooming in tightly on Alicia's jittery hand as it grasps the all-important wine cellar key. And the last shot we see is perfect, followed by a Nazi saying, "Alex, will you come in, please. I wish to talk to you" -- so cool.
'Notorious' is just a 1st-rate film noir classic from a brilliant director. But I love that there are other elements to it than just boxing it in to 'film noir'. Sure, the film is loaded with your typical shadowy images. But 'Notorious' is also a twisted tale about love. It's about trust (who earns it, who can be trusted). It's about redemption. It's romantic (acting upon or holding back on one's desires). It's Hitchcock's most passionate film (even when no skin is shown). It has elements of melodrama. It contains mommy/son issues (Alex Sebastian is dominated by his mother. By the way, for as excellent as Cary Grant is in this movie, it is Claude Rain's suave, yet sad, near-neurotic portrayal of Alex Sebastian which wowed me more). And it's a great suspense film. 'Notorious' has it all.