Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 18-June-06
Spoiler Rating: High

Gaslight (1944)

Ingrid Bergman won her first of three Academy Awards for "Gaslight," but it wasn't until my third viewing that I realized how fabulous her performance really is. She reveals numerous shades of hope, fear, and defiance in the role of Paula Alquist, a gentle soul whose youth was blighted when her guardian aunt was murdered in their London home. Having come of age in Italy, Paula decides to shed her lonely past and embark on a whirlwind marriage with a suave pianist (Charles Boyer), even agreeing to reoccupy the old English house (empty since the tragedy) to make him happy. Yet no sooner do they get settled that a cloud settles over their bliss. Her husband Gregory is reluctant to dwell on it, but it seems that Paula grows forgetful and starts to lose things. Maybe even her mind.

As witnesses to Paula's mounting confusion and terror, the audience can see that she hasn't misplaced her marbles but come under the sway of an evil man. Yet Bergman convincingly shows how she could fall victim to his diabolical schemes. With all the psychological complexity of a Hitchcock film (masterfully directed by George Cukor), "Gaslight" is chock full of deeply twisted situations whose cruelty is matched only by their subtlety. (Case in point: Gregory's hiring of a saucy young maid, played by Angela Lansbury, whom he uses to shame Paula in various ways.) The movie itself is often subtle as well, as when Gregory first puts the screws to his wife while surveying instruments of torture in the Tower of London. Throughout the whole mean business, Bergman writhes and begs and weeps in the slightly exaggerated fashion of '40s cinema without ever appearing hammy or insincere. While the story makes one squirm, the leading lady dazzles as artist plying her craft.

But lest you still dismiss the movie as too grim, allow me to introduce the one bright star in Paula's dark life, a Scotland Yard detective in the form of Joseph Cotten. This fine fellow is attracted to the gloomy bride because she reminds him of an old flame, and despite having no business in her affairs he makes it his duty to serve and protect her if he can (and if his hunch is right that she needs it). His presence provides a glimmer of hope to both Paula and the viewer and helps to build suspense towards the end. When reached, it's a satisfying conclusion to a film that's well executed and graced by a performance worthy of lasting fame.

Copyright © 2006 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.