Thursday, April 18, 2013

April 18: Blithe Spirit (1945 -- David Lean)

★★
Blithe Spirit must rank among the most trivial of David Lean’s work, and it’s safe to guess that it’s not Noel Coward’s star achievement either.  This film takes the interest in spiritualism, already gently mocked in the character of Sylvia in This Happy Breed, and turns it into the butt of full scale wit.  Exaggerated characters strike poses and engage in repartee, but overall the film lacks punch or insight.   Or, for that matter, originality.  Blithe Spirit putters along like a stylized, commercial theatrical production, telegraphing its next plot turn well in advance.

Lean doesn’t rise above this material either.  Sight gags and double exposures work to create some interest, but Lean’s editing acumen and Ronald Neame’s cinematographic touch are largely absent here.  There’s even a continuity problem as the driver and passenger in a car inexplicably switch places at one cut.  There is some nice use of color palette in the Technicolor – Elvira’s green complements the colors of the first séance, and Ruth’s subdued orange blend nicely with her room – but there’s little to distinguish the color scales here from those in other Technicolor productions of the time.

As my friend Lou says, this film lacks spirit.

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