Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 19-November-06
Spoiler Rating: High

Of Human Bondage (1934)

The 1934 classic "Of Human Bondage" is based upon W. Somerset Maugham's novel and deals with the insecurities and emotions to which people become enslaved. Its hero is a mild-mannered Englishman named Philip Carey (Leslie Howard) who pursues a career first in art and then in medicine in the hopes of gaining society's appreciation. Like many a young man trying to make good, Philip is hampered by obstacles including a meager income, a modest talent, and a clubfoot. These might be overcome by perseverance; however, he encounters a more serious challenge one night in a local café. Her name is Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis), a waitress equally notable for sex appeal and chilliness. (Her most enthusiastic response to any proposition is "I don't mind.") Philip falls hard for Mildred and asks her to be his wife, but she never really agrees. Instead, she spends the next few years pursuing her own selfish, ill-fated whims and relying on Philip to bail her out of each step in a gradual decline. And he does, to the detriment of his success.

"Of Human Bondage" is remembered today for putting Bette Davis on the map, and indeed she makes a most unsettling and believable femme fatale. But her solid performance points to what I consider the movie's weakness: it's an out-and-out downer despite an upbeat ending. One cannot dispute the screenplay's truthfulness in depicting how an average man could develop a malignant addiction, and how some people are incapable of kindness and love, but where's the entertainment in this? You watch Philip throw over a warmhearted woman who adores him (Kay Johnson) and give up his friendship with a fellow med student (Reginald Denny) and wonder, When will he ever learn? And what does he have to teach me? If it's true that we're all fettered to the impulses of the heart, no stern example can dissuade us from its course. The book, which has more back story, might offer a fuller picture of love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet the film is a morose reflection on human weakness in which the only positive note is that the current of life (and death) forces us to move on.

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