Dodsworth

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David F I’m not sure I got this. The story involves an auto baron who sells up in his mature age and goes to Europe with his wife. She wants to experience more of life, in the arms of European lovers, and the marriage slowly falls apart. It’s sad and wistful and I suppose a bit more sophisticated emotionally than most of what Hollywood was churning out in 1936. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/01/24 Full Review Mark B A fairly forgettable film. Well-acted, especially by Walter Huston and Ruth Chatterton. A young David Niven steals an early scene. What will keep the film in my mind are three things. First, the amazing restoration funded by George Lucas' foundation. Two, that the characters breeze through western Europe, both playing tourist and actually trying the settle in. Who knew that in less than two years, the entire continent would be experiencing the onset of WWII. Three, I once had a spouse who, after 20 years, needed to "be apart for a while." I gave her the no-strings-attached deal that Dodsworth offers Fran, for six months. And, just like the Dodsworth's, it didn't help. And to think I thought I was being so original! (#445 in my "watch all Best Picture Nominees" bucket list) Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/21/24 Full Review nick s Very good cinematography for the time and impressive acting. The story was subtle and had an interesting angle, but it was meandering. For me it kind of dragged a bit. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/05/23 Full Review Audience Member The movie is an absolute classic. A tale of two women in a man's life. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member "Dodsworth" is a disarmingly honest and frank depiction of a failed marriage, based on the Sinclair Lewis novel. Its naturalistic acting and its refusal to make its characters anything less than full-bodied human beings make it feel way ahead of its time. It's never mentioned along with other classic films of the period--probably because it doesn't have an epic scope--but it should be. Walter Huston gives an absolutely flawless performance in the title role. His type is so recognizable, even today: the successful American business man who values the simplest and most traditional of American values, and who comes across as provincial and crass to the rest of the world. Ruth Chatterton meets Huston's performance every step of the way as Dodsworth's wife, glad of the material comfort her husband can provide, but embarrassed by him and aware that he will prevent her from joining the world of high culture to which she wants to belong. It is to the movie's distinct credit that neither of these characters is either hero or villain. Dodsworth is crass and unsophisticated; yet at the same time he's honest and never misleads his wife into thinking he's something that he's not. Mrs. Dodsworth has a right to be bored by the kind of life Dodsworth is content with, but she might have thought of that before so readily accepting his financial success. I don't really know for sure, but I have a feeling this movie might have made people very uncomfortable in 1936. I doubt married couples were encouraged to turn too critical an eye on their own marriages back then, and I suspect that more people than not decided to stick it out in unhappy marriages rather than violate a sense of social propriety. Before the days when people dated for a few years before getting married, many people probably learned about the kind of person they were marrying only after the wedding day. "Dodsworth" beautifully captures the sad, melancholy feeling of waking up one morning and realizing you're not married to the person you thought you were. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Steve20 M A flawless look at life, love, the relationship between husband and wife over time and how it defines who we are and our will to live. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/27/21 Full Review Read all reviews

Dodsworth

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