#the reckless moment

[womansfilm]

The Reckless Moment (1949) / May December (2023)

[lesbiancolumbo]

I never did a decent thing in all my life. I never even wanted to until you came along.

The Reckless Moment (1949, dir. Max Ophuls)

[1985directedbyyentan]

"I never did a decent thing in all my life. I never even wanted to until you came along."

The Reckless Moment (1949) dir. Max Ophüls

[whosafraidofvirginiawoolf]

Don't go. I'll get help, you're bleeding.

The Reckless Moment (1949) dir. Max Ophuls

[letterboxd-loggd]

The Reckless Moment (1949) Max Ophüls

September 16th 2022

[1day1movie]

The Reckless Moment (1949) Max Ophüls.

[891movies]

587 to go

Camille (1936, dir. George Cukor): I’m not all that big on 19th century costume dramas but Greta Garbo is so electrifying, she could make reading from the phone book compelling. Every time she smiles in this thing, I wanted to pluck out my heart and hand it to her.

Sabotage (1936, dir. Alfred Hitchcock): Apparently Hitchcock later said he didn’t like the bus scene? Ridiculous, that’s the most suspenseful, nail-biting sequence of his entire career.

Dodsworth (1936,, dir. William Wyler): A daring melodrama and one of the only films I’ve seen from the era that openly discuss how difficult it is for women to grow older in a society that so prizes their youth. I would have liked the main conflict to be a little less one-sided but I do appreciate what nuance there is.

The Story of a Cheat (1936, dir. Sacha Guitry): A very charming little comedy with a premise that could have easily gotten tiring if not for one of the best narrators in the history of cinema. And I don’t normally like narration!

Whisky Galore! (1949, dir. Alexander Mackendrick): Funniest closing lines since Some Like It Hot. 

The Reckless Moment (1949, dir. Max Ophüls): A fairly straightforward and simple film noir with a very unusual point of view. I’m not the biggest fan of noir but Ophüls could convert me!

The Heiress (1949, dir. William Wyler): This movie keeps trying to convince you that Olivia de Havilland isn’t beautiful, and her performance is so great I almost believed it. 

[rwpohl]

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[jasonsutekh]

The Reckless Moment (1949)

After an accident, a mother protects her daughter by trying to conceal evidence but when this attracts blackmailers, her ordinary family life may fall apart.

 It’s an interesting variation on many film noir stories, most notably having a female lead, with a man in place of the femme fatale doing the distant and unconsummated seducing. It’s also far more engaging to have a lead who isn’t a loner but has a well established family life with far more to lose so there are actual stakes rather than just being aligned to the protagonist.

 The daughter is the main focus for the first few scenes but once the film gets started she disappears so we don’t get a proper view of her consequences or guilt. There were a few odd shots, the most unusual being the ones with water as a background through vehicle windows where it’s not clear if they’re in a car or boat.

 Mixing a homely life of class with the criminal aspects of society was an effective contrast and it put pressure on the main character without reducing the realism. The narrative balances suspense using the constant questions from police and blackmailers, with development as the relationship between the two leads changes.

 Overall the story is an enjoyable one but the pace slows down quite a few times. The ending in particular is a little unsatisfying, not in terms of the conclusions the characters get, but the final few actual scenes are somewhat underwhelming, if necessary. It’s also unfortunate there’s no clear closure with the daughter.

 3/10 -This one’s bad but it’s got some good in it, just there-

[dykealloy]

[womansfilm]

The Reckless Moment (1949) / May December (2023)

[lesbiancolumbo]

[1985directedbyyentan]

The Reckless Moment (1949) / Far From Heaven (2002)

[movieposters1]

[solar093-art]

some adventures can get too dangerous... so it's time to summon friends :)

[dailyayao]