Directed By: Fritz Lang
Starring: Henry Fonda, Sylvia Sidney, Barton MacLane
Synopsis:
Henry Fonda stars as ex-con, Eddie Taylor, who attempts to
settle down with Joan, played by Sylvia Sidney, after a life of petty crime. The
attempt fails as he’s accused of taking part in a brutal bank robbery.
Sentenced to death, he goes on the run with his pregnant girlfriend.
Review:
This second American film from Fritz Lang is definitely one
of his best, despite being one of his lesser known movies. The movie begins
light in tone and grows ever more increasingly dark as the running time
progresses. It paved the way for noir filmmaking and is seen as the original “Lovers
on the Run” movie. It is said to be based upon Bonnie and
Clyde , who were gunned down a few years previously, but
the world in which Eddie and Sylvia inhabit is a lot less savoury. 75 years later,
the movie is still unsettling and deliciously ambiguous.
What’s most interesting about the movie is that it isn’t
judgemental; it shows us enough about Eddie for us to form an opinion as to
whether or not he deserves the lot that has been given to him. On the surface,
the movie could be about a man hard done by in society. On the other hand,
Eddie is culpable. He’s not
a bad person but isn’t given an opportunity to rehabilitate. The world in
which the characters inhabit do not reward failure and doesn’t forgive
and forget. Everyone in Lang’s movie seems to have a criminal flaw, where
greed is much of a motivation.
Although not entirely convincing, Fonda is still very good as
a young man cast aside by society and mistreated on the assumption that he’s
an overall bad person. The acting keeps the movie from spilling over into full
melodrama, like Lang’s previous movie “Fury”. Sylvia Sidney is
excellent as the person who provides the light in Eddie’s life and
potentially the reason for him to attempt to avoid being sucked into a life of
crime. The irony is that he’s pulled into it anyway, through decisions by
himself and others. Thirty years before Fonda would be criticised for playing
an out and out killer in Sergio Leone's sublime elegiac Once Upon a Time in the West, here he is playing a morally ambiguous character.
This movie has been deserving of a full restoration for
years and finally we have it here.
It is a bleak story made all the more interesting by the
acting and Lang’s choices of camera angles, which at times are unusual
but showcase the director’s flair. The film benefits in a number of
scenes, from following the silent era. Some of the best shots are those where
communication is implied through looks instead of potentially inadequate
dialogue. There are many striking and iconic images to enjoy in the movie, the
style of which influenced a number of movies subsequently. If you want to watch
a master at work, pick up this latest release of You Only Live Once in all its
restored glory at all good stockists now.
Score: 8/10
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