457 Magnificent Obsession

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: 457 Magnificent Obsession

#151 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri Dec 06, 2019 10:45 am

I always thought this was minor Sirk, and after a rewatch I’m still very mixed on it, but found new merit even if it's poorly executed for my tastes. On the one hand, this may be Sirk’s most interesting film from purely an idea standpoint, presenting a philosophy that true redemption is not possible, but rehabilitation is. By acknowledging this impossibility of redeeming oneself based on past actions, Sirk focuses on turning towards the future, and proposes that an acceptance of responsibility and a charge to rehabilitate oneself towards consistent altruism and positive social regard can get as close to personal betterment as is possible, when evening the playing field goes off the table. It’s a very spiritual idea and one that recovery programs are built around, but a difficult idea all the same, one that requires a true helpless surrender in relinquishing hope for futile redemption to fully grasp this kind of peace.

Unfortunately I don’t think Sirk details the film with humility to support the humble nature of the concept. The plotting and characterizations are so exaggerated that there’s a paradoxical self-importance in this sappy dramatization that kills much of the power that the underlying themes put forth. There are a few great moments but they’re often between the loud hammy exchanges and it’s too bad, because you can sense a modesty there that’s still intensely dramatic in its own delicate way, and that’s a path Sirk can and has taken and with skill when he himself surrenders his obsessions to create something magnificent.

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