Fool me twice, shame on me, hey? Everything I felt about Port of Shadows in terms of being disappointed and kind of bored, I felt the same here. It's a shame, because I remember really liking Children of Paradise when I watched it a few years back.
So while it has a cool premise, decent visuals, and an interesting flashback structure, it didn't add up to something more than I could at best begrudgingly admire in parts. But then again, the flashback stuff, in hindsight, didn't add a huge amount to the film, really.
I guess I should be thankful if it helped give birth to film noir, if the Mubi description is to be believed? Said noir feel without a narrator was cool I guess?
But I just found it an absolute chore to get through. Beyond the initial premise the story didn't engage me, and the characters didn't seem compelling to me either.
For its technical proficiency and potential influence on later film noir/crime films, I can't in good conscience give it a lower rating, but given how little I enjoyed watching it, I can't really go high, either.
So while it has a cool premise, decent visuals, and an interesting flashback structure, it didn't add up to something more than I could at best begrudgingly admire in parts. But then again, the flashback stuff, in hindsight, didn't add a huge amount to the film, really.
I guess I should be thankful if it helped give birth to film noir, if the Mubi description is to be believed? Said noir feel without a narrator was cool I guess?
But I just found it an absolute chore to get through. Beyond the initial premise the story didn't engage me, and the characters didn't seem compelling to me either.
For its technical proficiency and potential influence on later film noir/crime films, I can't in good conscience give it a lower rating, but given how little I enjoyed watching it, I can't really go high, either.