A very adult picture of "love" and "relationships", with Lionel Atwill excellent as the older man making a fool of himself over Marlene Dietrich, and Dietrich herself as the amoral woman who glories in the power her feminity provides. Despite it's seeming fluffy exterior as a kind of romantic comedy, there's nothing funny here, as a lot of pain and frustration and rage gets expressed (culminating in a fascinating scene where Atwill beats her, and she in some ways glories in it. Lushly shot, almost a whipped up as a soufflé, but there's a real sour candy in the center.
Dietrich is beautiful and utterly convincing as the ur-female, the penultimate example of her sex. Atwill is very convincing as the long suffering lover, as well. A truly misogynistic movie, I think, with a very low opinion of women generally -- although it should be noted that Dietrich is always seen as a figure of strength, and Atwill comes more and more to be seen as an unmanned figure of weakness.
Highly recommended, a fascinating dissection of boy meets girl.
Dietrich is beautiful and utterly convincing as the ur-female, the penultimate example of her sex. Atwill is very convincing as the long suffering lover, as well. A truly misogynistic movie, I think, with a very low opinion of women generally -- although it should be noted that Dietrich is always seen as a figure of strength, and Atwill comes more and more to be seen as an unmanned figure of weakness.
Highly recommended, a fascinating dissection of boy meets girl.