Laura (1944)

Third viewing, if I am not mistaken; the first one was, I think, in 1983, and the second one was on February 14, 1988.

The investigation of the brutal murder of a young woman has as main suspects a middle-aged columnist who is famed for his arrogance and misanthropy, and a young man from an upper-class family who is in a sort of mutual dependency relationship with a middle-aged woman. The detective in charge gradually becomes emotionally entangled in a peculiar way.

I see I have certainly changed my taste in movies over all these years of film viewing; if I have become wiser or dumber (or neither) is, I suppose, undecidable. At any rate, I feel I have overrated this film on both my previous viewings. While it is engaging and interesting on many aspects, and hints at some marvelous ideas, they do not get satisfactorily developed. I think one of these ideas is that of falling in love with an absent person who is constructed in one's mind from a portrait and other people's testimony. I think this is the aspect of the movie that mostly caught my attention previously. On this present viewing, however, I focused on another angle, which better defines what the film is about. It may be seen as an exploration of the concept of masculinity, as it relates to a woman's needs. Two suitors are successively found lacking in this regard, and a third finally fits the bill.

Rating: 68 (down from 90)