Monday, November 09, 2020

The Razor's Edge (1984)

Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, first published in 1944.

 Larry is a young American from a well-to-do family who serves in World War One as an ambulance driver. After the war he gets second thoughts about becoming a stockbroker and decides instead to search for a meaning in life, or the meaning of life, or whatever. That entails some lifestyle choices which do not agree with his fiancée's expectations.

This is a strange movie, as most people who have watched it have noticed. The main actor does not suit the part physically, and his way of verbal expression is clearly anachronistic, and often considerably out of character. The other characters are poorly written but well played. Since the general dramatic points of the plot remain comprehensible, it's hard to consider the film a total failure. The basic point of the plot seems to be that women are what prevents men from searching a meaning in life, and that may be a good thing because there is no meaning in life. 

Rating: 35

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