On the eve of World War II, British officer Roy Cronin (Robert Taylor) revisits Waterloo Bridge in London. He recalls the man he was during World War I and the young ballerina named Myra (Vivien Leigh) who he met fell in love with during an air raid. That love will be the one of the wars unspoken casualties. Heartbroken after Roy is reportedly killed in action Myra turns to prostitution to make her way. The report however is false and Roy later returns from a POW camp eager to begin life anew with his beloved, but Myra's shattered spirit may no longer hold any room for happiness.
This is one of the better movies of the 1940s. The material is handled perfectly despite the possibility of it deteriorating into a bad soap opera and it isn't dumbed down for the audience. Never are we explicitly told what Myra is doing for money but we still know what happens. I don't think that if we were told it would not have the same emotional impact.
Vivien Leigh is, I admit, one of my favorite actresses so you probably won't ever see me write that she gave a bad performance. This performance is no exception. In the hands of a lesser actress there might be the need for dialogue to explain Myra's pain. Leigh shows it in her facial expressions that say far more than any words possibly could.
The other end of that emotional spectrum is Robert Taylor who delivers the best performance of his career. His everlasting hope and optimism for love keeps the film from dragging.
So often, dramas of this type try to force an emotional reaction from it's audience. Here it simply happens naturally
★★★1/2
No comments:
Post a Comment