Marnie is a hard watch. On the one hand you could watch it as the audiences of the times would have, the story of a broken woman who needs a man to tame her and save her from herself. Or, you could watch it with modern eyes, the story of a brutalized woman who moves from one menace to another and in the end doesn't escape her abuser. Either way it is a hard film to watch, although if we lean towards the latter, there is a story there that you can appreciate.
The opening shot of Marnie is exhilarating, a mysterious woman walks away from the camera at a train station, no music or context. The scene has a very European vibe. It feels like we are about to watch something tantalizing. We're invited into this cypher's story and where it might take us is unknown.
Marnie's incredulous boss is angry and sexist and exasperated as he describes how she used her feminine wiles to outwit him. This is Hitchcock's portrait of a femme fatal, giving us enough of her back story to make her sympathetic while also making her dangerous. She's a predator, explicitly we are told, but we are on her side. The film is caught up in all the sexual morals of the time and stumbles over them quite a bit, yet it remains a portrait of a woman fighting for herself and that in itself is fascinating. Hitchcock's intention may have been to tell the story of a dangerous woman being saved by a man through his tough love. But now Marie feels like the story of a woman victimized by those around her and ends far more tragically than it would have been intended.
Hot off Dr. No, Connery appears as not far off from his newly minted Bond persona. He's smarmy, racist, and misogynist, like his more famous character. The film relied in its time on him remaining likeable despite all that he does. These days that's a tall order. In fact for Marnie to work today, one has to read him as the villain. His character blackmails her, rapes her, gaslights her, and generally abuses her. He spends the film beating her down and claiming he loves her. Today we recognize that for the abuse it is but at the time it likely would be read as romantic.
Hedron, filling in for Grace Kelly who Hitchcock originally wanted, follows up her work on The Birds with this more complicated character. Her slightly wooden portrayal takes me out of the film somewhat but she does manage enough hidden distress to keep the audience on her side. But there are moments where she shines. In the infamous rape scene she stares determinedly into the camera while Connery glares like an evil mastermind. It is horrifying and powerful. It is hard to imagine how audiences of the day could have watched this without the disgust it generates today. Hedron remains faithful to the character though remaining defiant til the end.
There is an incredibly tense moment in the middle where Marnie is breaking into a safe. The film, like in the first scene, isn't scored, and is tensely silent as the cleaner slowly approaches potentially catching her in the act. It is deliciously exciting. Hitchcock's famous skill at building suspense is on display here and the film keeps you glued to the edge of your seat. Even as it careens towards its depressing ending, an ending that cops out by reducing all the male violence Marnie and her mother experienced and turns her into an insane young woman who killed an "innocent" man.
Marnie remains fascinating despite the way it tries to blame its title character for the way she's responded to the cruel world around her and the way it tries to make her abuser into her saviour. If we view it as tragedy it can be appreciated in a different way than intended. Although by doing so we make it even harder to watch.
Marnie
Starring: Tippi Hedren, Sean Connery, Diane Baker, Louise Latham, Alan Napier, Bruce Dern, Martin Gabel
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writer: Jay Presson Allen
No comments:
Post a Comment