They Live By Night (1948) :
Brief Review -
"I think a woman is sort of like a dog".. This is a real Romantic Noir with Killer dialogues. Among all the Noir films set in Romantic shell i have seen till date, They Live By Night surprised me the most. Because this film doesn't even try to generate sympathy for the leading character when we already he's gonna be punished at the end but before us he knows it himself. That's what i call perfect characterisation which was missing in some well known noir films. I personally didn't find them that great and i don't wanna name them here just to avoid direct comparison with They Live By Night but this one is Underrated compared to those some of overrated noir where either main hero or heroine doesn't make a sense. Here, there's is story of a young jailbait named Bowie who falls in love with a teenage girl who nurses him and adores him. They get married but somewhere Bowie knows he doesn't stand a chance to live with her in this civilised society and he had move away. In the meantime, a girl too is familiar with thier fate but never stops loving him. The narrative is simple and predictable yet it gets you moving along with it. Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell creates magnificent chemistry wherever there is a scope for them as an actors. There's is less Lust and more Love, i like it this way. Even though it comes to end with predictable scenerio, it still leave an impact on it's level. But what surprised me the most is the dialogues which stand out everything else in the film. I am taking couple of them with me forever, "A woman loves only once. I think a woman is sort of like a dog" and "I am not gonna sell you hopes when there ain't any". Watch out for the dialogues and you'll love them. Nicholas Ray unfolds the novel very well in cinematic portions despite the fact that Crime and Romance isn't a deadly combo. A rare Romantic Noir which seems like making a sense to me in all aspects. Please Do watch it.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest
"I think a woman is sort of like a dog".. This is a real Romantic Noir with Killer dialogues. Among all the Noir films set in Romantic shell i have seen till date, They Live By Night surprised me the most. Because this film doesn't even try to generate sympathy for the leading character when we already he's gonna be punished at the end but before us he knows it himself. That's what i call perfect characterisation which was missing in some well known noir films. I personally didn't find them that great and i don't wanna name them here just to avoid direct comparison with They Live By Night but this one is Underrated compared to those some of overrated noir where either main hero or heroine doesn't make a sense. Here, there's is story of a young jailbait named Bowie who falls in love with a teenage girl who nurses him and adores him. They get married but somewhere Bowie knows he doesn't stand a chance to live with her in this civilised society and he had move away. In the meantime, a girl too is familiar with thier fate but never stops loving him. The narrative is simple and predictable yet it gets you moving along with it. Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell creates magnificent chemistry wherever there is a scope for them as an actors. There's is less Lust and more Love, i like it this way. Even though it comes to end with predictable scenerio, it still leave an impact on it's level. But what surprised me the most is the dialogues which stand out everything else in the film. I am taking couple of them with me forever, "A woman loves only once. I think a woman is sort of like a dog" and "I am not gonna sell you hopes when there ain't any". Watch out for the dialogues and you'll love them. Nicholas Ray unfolds the novel very well in cinematic portions despite the fact that Crime and Romance isn't a deadly combo. A rare Romantic Noir which seems like making a sense to me in all aspects. Please Do watch it.
RATING - 7.5/10*
By - #samthebestest