Producer, co-founder Filmspotting.
"Favorite Films" my fave of each of the last four years (h/t Tim Hoiland).
It’s possible to go into this film determined to like it - for the music, for the cast, for the sake of just wanting to have a good time - and to leave completely satisfied. I know this because that’s what happened to me. The music is irresistible, the cast is more than game, and why in the hell else would you watch this movie unless you wanted to have a good time? But I also think it’s very savvily…
A perfect melodrama in the way no one is at fault, only that their simple and perfectly reasonable desires puts them on a path to disappointment, resentment and despair. Stanwyck unreal even when the plot kind of inexplicably demands that she double down on her character’s crass tackiness.
I've taken all of your criticisms into account and have determined that you're all wrong.
The first shot of Celine in the bookshop. The car ride when they nearly touch each other. The look on Celine's face as they walk up the stairs. Nina Simone.
The whole f'ing thing.