I liked the film Casablanca, especially the plot and certain scenes. I enjoyed some parts about the characters, but some of the acting was too dramatic and some of the characters were portrayed in a way that made me a little upset. The plot was exciting. The twists and turns in the plot made the film fun to watch. For example, at first I really thought that Rick was going to run away with Ilsa, but then he didn’t. I also thought that Rick would end up arrested, but the Captain Renault got him off the hook. I did not expect Rick to allow the young husband to win at one of the gambling tables, which was a pleasant surprise.
The characters were definitely costumed correctly and there was a good use of make-up. The casting was also done very well. The people who worked at Rick’s Café Americain seemed to be picked because of character type, which was a good choice on the film-maker’s part. The bar tender that had the mustache and little bit of curl on the top of his head fit well. The large waiter with the spectacles and white hair was also portrayed well. Those are the type of men that I would envision working at a 1940s restaurant/café/music place/bar/casino type of place.
However, my issue with the characters was that Ilsa and some of the other women (the young married woman talked to Rick about money problems and getting the visa through Captain Renault) were overly dramatic by their use of voice and body positioning. I know that is how they were supposed to be, but I found it fake and annoying. The portrayal of Rick and Laszlo fed into the dramatization of Ilsa and other women because they both were the stone faced, hard men—the type of men who always know best for the women. It also seemed like their tone of voice barely fluctuated and their faces didn’t show as much expression as the women.
I know the actors were probably directed to act in a more stylized manner, however not usually a fan of that. It may perhaps be just a part of the historical period of “Classical Cinema” which may come up in a future blog.
1 comment:
I can't lie--sometimes the aspects of gender representation that you mention here intrude a bit on my experience with this film. Sometimes more than others--I did notice it last night, and it kind of yanked me out of the picture. Maybe because I just showed Thelma and Louise for another class the night before! :-)
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