Reviews

I love the long takes, and I love the exacting screenplay from the mind of the talented Welles, coming after some time in Europe, away from Hollywood.

Well, Kathie ran after shooting another of Whit's hoodlums, an ex-partner of Jeff's, Jack Fisher (Steve Brodie), who was trying to blackmail them - leaving behind proof that she was lying to Jeff about not stealing Whit's $40,000.

That constant danger, after the film works so well at getting us on Nick's side, is what drives our apprehensions throughout, and why it had me thrilled much of the time.

But before I sign off making this film sound like a suffocating, stressful ordeal, I have to pay tribute to Eve Arden who plays Mildred's compatriot Ida - she's often ready with a quip and continues on always untouched by the madness and drama that surrounds Mildred Pierce.

Those are far from deal breakers for me and this film however - I think it's fantastic, a pleasure to watch, and has everything a film of this type needs to burn up the screen.

Just like many film noir films, Detour has a flashback narrative, sizzling femme fatale, sad-sack narration, slick dialogue, down-on-his-luck protagonist and unexpected death.

This is a film that improves with a second watch - knowing everything actually enhances the film's opening scenes, which work fine on a first watch, but take on an added gravitas when you know the weight Steve and Anna are carrying - knowing not only that a heist is on, but also a very dangerous dou...

Director Huston took inspiration from the neorealist films springing up in Europe, giving everything as much naturalism as possible - and it really works well.

I kind of thought that the story these two men share, and the reason for what's happening, gets revealed a little too quickly - once we're half-way through the film we already know what went down between them, and the rest of the film only has the hunt to keep us interested.

It's a film with a protagonist walking around in a daze much of the time, and I never relaxed into it's ultra-slow incremental tempo.