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Act of Violence (1948) -
L.A. resident Frank Enley (Van Heflin) has an outstanding life: big house, beautiful wife (Janet Leigh), a baby, a successful construction business, etc. Suddenly, a man from Frank's past named Joe (Robert Ryan) he never wanted to run into again starts asking around for him. What does he want? I won't say, but I'll at least mention that he makes Frank's life a lot less comfortable. What follows is a tense noir that more than successfully explores one of the genre's main components: America reckoning with its involvement in World War II and its resulting good fortune.
From the foggy nighttime skyline of New York in the opening frames to the shadowy streets and alleys where most of the movie takes place, L.A. (do any other places in Hollywood's America matter?), the movie certainly nails the vibes associated with film noir. The look and feel of the train station in the finale is the highlight, which I partly wanted to last longer so I could take it in. This movie wouldn't work if the one playing Frank didn't convince at expressing the kind of guilt and remorse about something that would force an involved party to travel across America, and thankfully, Heflin is up to the task. Another moment involving a train, for instance, made me forget to breathe and fear for his safety. Ryan, who I also enjoyed in the noir On Dangerous Ground, also deserves praise for how unwavering he is in his mission. Another review I read compared Joe to the Terminator, which I agree with. Again, I don't want to say what drives Joe, but it's a dilemma that will make you wonder who to root for or if there's anyone to root for at all with each revelation. The perspectives of the much more forgiving women in Frank and Joe's lives make the dilemma even more interesting to ponder, especially for how they make you wonder how different the world would be if they had more say at the time.
The specter of World War II lurks in the corners of pretty much every film noir, but it's especially obvious in this one. If that is your least favorite component of the genre, I still think you should seek it out. Regardless of your interest in that subject, the ways the movie successfully exploits the fear of someone not only coming out of the blue to threaten your stable existence, but also who won't listen to reason makes up for it. For this reason, it would pair well with movies like Cape Fear and Caché.
L.A. resident Frank Enley (Van Heflin) has an outstanding life: big house, beautiful wife (Janet Leigh), a baby, a successful construction business, etc. Suddenly, a man from Frank's past named Joe (Robert Ryan) he never wanted to run into again starts asking around for him. What does he want? I won't say, but I'll at least mention that he makes Frank's life a lot less comfortable. What follows is a tense noir that more than successfully explores one of the genre's main components: America reckoning with its involvement in World War II and its resulting good fortune.
From the foggy nighttime skyline of New York in the opening frames to the shadowy streets and alleys where most of the movie takes place, L.A. (do any other places in Hollywood's America matter?), the movie certainly nails the vibes associated with film noir. The look and feel of the train station in the finale is the highlight, which I partly wanted to last longer so I could take it in. This movie wouldn't work if the one playing Frank didn't convince at expressing the kind of guilt and remorse about something that would force an involved party to travel across America, and thankfully, Heflin is up to the task. Another moment involving a train, for instance, made me forget to breathe and fear for his safety. Ryan, who I also enjoyed in the noir On Dangerous Ground, also deserves praise for how unwavering he is in his mission. Another review I read compared Joe to the Terminator, which I agree with. Again, I don't want to say what drives Joe, but it's a dilemma that will make you wonder who to root for or if there's anyone to root for at all with each revelation. The perspectives of the much more forgiving women in Frank and Joe's lives make the dilemma even more interesting to ponder, especially for how they make you wonder how different the world would be if they had more say at the time.
The specter of World War II lurks in the corners of pretty much every film noir, but it's especially obvious in this one. If that is your least favorite component of the genre, I still think you should seek it out. Regardless of your interest in that subject, the ways the movie successfully exploits the fear of someone not only coming out of the blue to threaten your stable existence, but also who won't listen to reason makes up for it. For this reason, it would pair well with movies like Cape Fear and Caché.