"I must paint!", George Sanders' Charles Strickland insists, and indeed he does, at the expense of the happiness of those around him and especially at his own. Various people who knew this fictional version of Gaugin provide the narration for the story, most notably Herbert Marshall who at one point in counters him in public after getting to know his way of living and, disgusted by his knowledge, declares that he wants absolutely nothing to do with him or the likes of anybody like him. Indeed, Strickland is an amoral person, neglecting his duties as a husband in order to fulfill his desire to paint wherever he goes. For a while, he is in Paris, then he ends up in Tahiti where his madness takes over even as his art becomes profound, threatening to destroy the young Tahitian girl who falls in love with him and becomes his second wife as well as Strickland himself. Through conversations mainly between Sanders and Marshall, the viewer gets to see Strickland in a light that they may not understand but do realize that this is the only way he knows how to live, one that is filled with destruction.
Based not only on Gaugin's life but a novel by Somerset Maugham. This is as close to an art-house film as you will find from the 1940's, and depending on the eyes through which the viewer sees this, it will have mixed reactions. Certainly, there is more conversation than action, but it does become very intense whenever Strickland begins to paint. In fact, the ending sequence reminded me of the climax of "The Red Shoes", both worlds of art but both completely wrapped up with obsessive characters. There are periods where the film does become rather boring, but there are also films where the light-hearted atmosphere takes over, particularly when the story moves to Tahiti and introduces the character played by Florence Bates. As usual, she steals the few scenes that she is in, and it is nice to see Sanders and Bates together, having not shared any scenes in Hitchcock's "Rebecca".
The theme of the story is an emotionally unhappy man who is only complete when he is painting, and like many artists, he is never satisfied with what he does. His human relationships are shaky at best, and his view of women as a whole is not a positive one. It is only through the complex performance of George Sanders that this character has any likability whatsoever, and I question whether it was the actor I like or the character, quickly realizing that the answer to that was the first part. Marshall is only memorable in the scene where he tells Sanders what he really thinks of him, and other character performances don't really add much insight to the view from Strickland's world. In fact, the world is viewed more from the people surrounding him, making me wonder how this would have been had it been viewed from the other point of view.
Based not only on Gaugin's life but a novel by Somerset Maugham. This is as close to an art-house film as you will find from the 1940's, and depending on the eyes through which the viewer sees this, it will have mixed reactions. Certainly, there is more conversation than action, but it does become very intense whenever Strickland begins to paint. In fact, the ending sequence reminded me of the climax of "The Red Shoes", both worlds of art but both completely wrapped up with obsessive characters. There are periods where the film does become rather boring, but there are also films where the light-hearted atmosphere takes over, particularly when the story moves to Tahiti and introduces the character played by Florence Bates. As usual, she steals the few scenes that she is in, and it is nice to see Sanders and Bates together, having not shared any scenes in Hitchcock's "Rebecca".
The theme of the story is an emotionally unhappy man who is only complete when he is painting, and like many artists, he is never satisfied with what he does. His human relationships are shaky at best, and his view of women as a whole is not a positive one. It is only through the complex performance of George Sanders that this character has any likability whatsoever, and I question whether it was the actor I like or the character, quickly realizing that the answer to that was the first part. Marshall is only memorable in the scene where he tells Sanders what he really thinks of him, and other character performances don't really add much insight to the view from Strickland's world. In fact, the world is viewed more from the people surrounding him, making me wonder how this would have been had it been viewed from the other point of view.