Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Day 280 - Notorious

Notorious (1946) directed by Alfred Hitchcock




Notorious isn't just a spy movie; it is one of the very best spy movies. Combined with the fact that it isn't also just a romance, but one of the very best romances, makes Notorious one of the all time great classics. It's really amazing to think of all the great movies Hitchcock has made and for me this easily ranks as one of his best.

Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) has the reputation of being a promiscuous heavy drinker and is also the daughter of a convicted Nazi spy. T.R. Devlin (Cary Grant) is an American agent who recruits her on a mission to Brazil to spy on some Nazis. She is the ideal candidate because of who her father is, her reputation and that the targeted man Alexander Sebastian was once in love with her. Alicia must literally get into bed with the enemy.

This causes a strain between Alicia and Devlin who have fallen for each other. Throughout the film they love each other yet misjudge each other badly. Devlin doesn't like the idea but can't tell Alicia not to do it; Alicia doesn't like the idea either but needs Devlin to tell her he doesn't want her to. It is one of those "if you really love me, you wouldn't do it and if you really love me, you'd tell me not to do it" situations and all the time you're yelling at the screen for them to stop being such stubborn fools and passionately kiss each other already! So Alicia agrees to the mission and manages to get Sebastian to fall in love and propose to her. She carries on her mission so successfully to spite Devlin and in turn he wounds her by making it clear he is only using her for the mission when it is so obvious they both love each other. The love-hate romance angle is fantastic and it helps that the chemistry between Grant and Bergman is spot on.

All the while Alicia is thrown into the lion's den and must tread carefully. Sebastian and his Nazi cohorts are working on something big and she must find out what without being discovered. There is a constant sense of danger and suspense throughout the film that is just fantastic. This is where Hitchcock really shines as there are several scenes that are just oozing with suspense.

Alicia must find out what lies in the wine cellar that is locked by a key only Sebastian has. First there is the issue of obtaining the key that she barely gets. Then later at a party Alicia and Devlin must go into the wine cellar to investigate. The caveat is that the wine is quickly running out and eventually someone must come down to get more. We can see the bottles of wine slowly disappearing like a timer on a bomb counting down to zero. And finally there is the finale where everything comes together. Devlin realizes that Alicia is in great danger and must rescue her and he is able to do so in plain sight of everybody. All Sebastian has to do is say the word, but to do so would expose his role into marrying an American double agent so we anxiously see what he will do.

The film also has great visual elements. There is the scene after Alicia has stolen the key and is at the party waiting for Devlin to show up. The camera oversees the entire room and slowly makes its way down and zooms into Alicia's nervous hand fidgeting with the key. I love these kind of shots. It's kind of like Where's Waldo where you get one really big room with a bunch of stuff going on but the only thing that matters for the viewer is this one tiny key. It is a classic Hitchcock type moment that he does in other films.

I didn't catch this in the movie, but after reading about it I felt like it had to be mentioned. In the scene where Devlin tries to recruit Alicia to go on the mission she initially refuses saying she doesn't care about patriotism. Devlin plays a recorded conversation where she denounces her father and declares that she does indeed love her country. In the beginning of the recording we can see Alicia in the background in the shadows but as the recording picks up she is slowly revealed in the light and by the end of the recording where she is at her proudest she is fully illuminated like a beacon of light. Obviously this isn't done by accident. It is a meticulously planned shot that goes to show how much work and care goes into making movies. It is a masterful touch that that goes beyond simply entertaining an audience, it is a matter of pure art. Notorious is simply fantastic.

Grade: A

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