Category Archives: Drama
My Cousin Rachel (1952)
It’s been years since I first saw the 1952 film, My Cousin Rachel, and a rereading on the book written by Daphne du Maurier sent me on a hunt for a copy. Du Maurier is probably best remembered for Rebecca, and while I … Continue reading
Filed under Drama, Period Piece
Disgrace (2008)
I was attracted to the film Disgrace (2008) for two reasons: it’s based on the novel by J.M. Coetzee (which I read a few years ago) and also because it features John Malkovich. Regular readers of my blogs know that I … Continue reading
Filed under Drama, South Africa
Invitation (1952)
“Remember I said the first round goes to you or your father’s money.” One type of film that really seemed to thrive in the 1950s was the soap-opera styled plot laced with drama, tragedy and a good old family … Continue reading
H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941)
“They say you can get over anything in time. I don’t believe you can, but given enough time, you can put it where it belongs.” H.M. Pulham, Esq., based on the novel by John P. Marquand, is a gentle study in class conditioning … Continue reading
Greenberg (2010)
“Wish it wasn’t too late to get my medical degree.” Greenberg from director Noah Baumbach (who also wrote the screenplay) is an intense, focused character study of a man who never ‘gets it.’ Most of us probably know a Greenberg. We probably … Continue reading
Basil (1998)
Basil (1998) is obviously a labour of love for writer/director Radha Bharadwaj. Based on a Wilkie Collins novel, the story contains all the dramatic elements often found in this Victorian author’s works–an inheritance, a dirty family secret, illegitimacy, and deception in … Continue reading
Filed under Drama
Paid in Full (1950)
“You can build a career on being beautiful but not a marriage.” If I watch a tearjerker, then I want a film that gives enough unabashed, glorious lurid melodrama that we can wallow in it. Douglas Sirk was the master … Continue reading
Filed under Drama, Lizabeth Scott
Sidewalks of New York (2001)
“We’ll put that romantic crap to bed for once and for all.” It’s impossible to watch Sidewalks of New York without realizing that the film is either a homage to, or derivative of, Woody Allen. But that doesn’t make Sidewalks … Continue reading
Filed under Drama
Irina Palm (2007)
“Can you wank me off?” Years ago, I took a philosophy class in which the instructor delighted in creating moral dilemmas for the students to mull over. “Is it alright to steal?” he’d ask, and after the students gave a … Continue reading
Days and Clouds (2007)
“We kept living as though nothing had happened.” The excellent Italian drama Days and Clouds (aka Giorni e Nuvole) charts the disintegration of the marriage of an affluent middle-aged couple as their fortunes change for the worse. When the film … Continue reading
