Of the times when the Gayness was not too forgivable offence, unlike the novel, the movie keeps it as an hint, on screen it tries to keep a more 'decent' platonic relationship.
Had it been with 'proper' gender, it could well have been a psychological melodrama, with a touch of say 'La Chamade'
An aged maestro- while looking at a young artists's sketches - finds the artist more interesting than the sketches, and takes him in - as an 'adopted son' - with gender reversal/ modern age, it could have been a mistress. There is another one in the scene - to complete the triangle - the journalist/biographer/ Dr Watson to Holmes - Charles Switt. Naturally there is a green hue around the two - Mikael and Charles.
Mikael, being young, has his affinity towards his age (at least here it was girls), and, with finances at his disposal, thanks to the successful and hence affluent Master, makes hay. In the still idyllic family - lands the fourth angle in form of an impoverised Russian princess, who - though in novel seduces Mikael, but here it looked to be mutual - and to maintain her life style - Mikael first borrows and later steals.
Not very improbable story, with some gender changes - say make Charles and Mikael of one gender, and Zoret and princess of other - it would be a common melodrama.
The skill here - and that needed some skill - was to maintain the genders - suppress the homosexual angle - st least direct reference - and still be able to tell the story. And CTD managed to do that.
At 1924 level, this is an exceptional story telling, and is able to catch imagination even now.
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Review of Michael
