Review 116
Rope (1948)
The end of August is fast approaching, and that also means a new school semester is right around the corner. Starting something new this time around, so here's hoping all goes well! What a better way to celebrate than with Alfred Hitchcock's 1948 classic, Rope, starring John Dall, Farley Granger, and James Stewart? The story is based on the events of Leopold and Loeb's killing of an innocent boy after believing they had reached Nietzsche's übermensch status. Let's get a chokehold on this review! (Completely forced, sorry.)
Brandon (John Dall) convinces Philip (Farley Granger) to kill their friend, David (Dick Hogan), as he believes the two have reached a status that puts them above murder. But this isn't enough - Brandon decides, in order to show his superiority, to host a party, inviting David's father, Mr. Kentley (Cedric Hardwicke), David's aunt (Constance Collier), his lover, Janet (Joan Chandler), and the three's old headmaster, Rupert Cadell (James Stewart), who may have more to do with the killing than he realises.
The film consisted of super long shots, each approximately ten minutes each, and that is something I really liked about Rope. I've always thought theatre is probably much more difficult than film if only because there are no second chances, and this film shows that these actors were nothing less than their theatre counterparts. And yes, indeed, the acting was grand. Anyway, back to cinematography... Though the shots were long, they never got boring or made you feel like they were super lengthy. Alfred Hitchcock made the camera move around, follow characters, tell a story on its own without accompanying dialogue... Pretty cool stuff!
I watched the film with a friend, and once it was over, he commented on how gay the protagonists were. I hadn't even picked up on, completely absorbed by the murder it was based on. Plus, to me, poshy characters always came off as a bit more feminine to me, so I wasn't convinced... Until I looked at the facts. It's funny how transparent a film can be once you catch one little hint. I think the biggest thing I noticed was the clue from the closet, an obvious euphemism for being gay. I also recognised the first movement from Trois mouvements perpétuels from Poulenc, and wondered if Poulenc was gay - he was, struggling with his sexuality, similar to the character who speeds along his piece in the film (please listen to a beautiful version of the song here). Honestly, this little extra twist to the film is what made it for me. In my last review, I was déçue by the fact that I hadn't caught a deeper meaning for Dogtooth and, thus, couldn't say I really got the film. Once you really take cinema as an art within an art, you definitely get more for your buck.
Rope is not the best film I've seen, but it's definitely a fun watch with a good introduction to hidden meanings in film. You'll be positively gay after checking this one out.
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