ViewGuide

Created Mar 25, 2009 09:20AM PST • Edited Mar 25, 2009 09:20AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   Perhaps the quintessential film noir, The Big Sleep offers Bogart and Bacall in a riveting, fiesty murder mystery that’s perhaps too beguiling for its own good at times.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Bogart evokes Sam Spade and Rick Blaine in his performance as legendary PI Phillip Marlowe, whilst Lauren Bacall ably supports as the sultry, jaw-droppingly attractive Vivian Rutledge. Supporting them in lesser yet intriguing performances include Martha Vickers, John Ridgely and Regis Toomey.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

   Humphrey Bogart really is unlike any actor alive today – with the hangdog face and sarcastic, suggestive characters he chooses, the actor cemented his place in history. Whilst Casablanca seems to be the film for which he’s known best, his performance as Marlowe has shaped the detective and noir genres since – an outstanding yet understated performance from a great actor.

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

   Lauren Bacall, despite her obvious and quite disarming attractiveness, produces a femme fatale in Vivien who is both suggestive and mysterious – and her scenes with Bogart sizzle with sexual tension. It’s clear to see how she went on to greater fame from here quite honestly!

7. Female Costars Very Good 3.5

   Martha Vickers almost manages to upstage Bacall here in her role as Vivian’s sister Carmen – all coy expressions and suggestive approaches to Marlowe, she remains in the mind more so than any other character, so bizarre and so memorable is her performance as the spoilt little rich girl with skeletons in her closet.

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

   John Ridgely plays Edward Mars, the antagonist of the piece – well, one of them, I’ll leave it down to you to try and wade through the plot’s many turns. Ridgely plays against Bogart with a sense of malevolence and comedy – he’s a suave character whose intentions are never truly clear. Regis Toomey plays Marlowe’s contact in the police, and his few scenes with Bogart do provide much of the interesting interplay that’s often seen (watered down and dumbed down) in buddy cop movies these days.

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

    Howard Hawks manages to fashion a superb movie from a convoluted plotline, though the narrative issues still permeate the finished product. A truly lavish movie, each scene’s soundtrack and visual splendour cement it as a classic of Old Hollywood, whilst Chandler’s dialogue adds sizzle and style to the proceedings.

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

    Hawks directs each scene with a sense of fluidity – the movie flows from point to point, not stopping to wait for those who can’t keep up. The legendary director coaxes interesting and diverse performances from his cast whilst maintaining the style and intent of the novel’s dialogue and characters. The issues with the plot do cast a shadow however – the film isn’t that simple to follow, and you really need to listen out for names – and concentration is a big issue for many film-watchers, so be warned.

12. Play Really Great 4.5

    Chandler’s zippy, street-smart dialogue makes the movie the success it is – every line Bogart’s Marlowe speaks has some form of barb behind it, whether it be sexually suggestive or simply an attack. The women’s lines are entendres to the last; Bacall and Bogart’s scene in the cafe is perhaps the best example of the exemplary dialogue provided by Chandler.

13. Music Good 3.0

    The soundtrack is classic Hollywood – one memorable motif that permeates the rest of the movie alongside much forgettable and overdubbed music. Not that this matters – the theme is good, and the scenes tend to be so complex with their exposition that overbearing music would only confound plot issues.

14. Visuals Very Good 3.5

    From the Starkwood mansion to the streets of the city, Hawks fashions a believable and tangible 40s environment, and whilst the inevitable driving scenes are terribly done with the bluescreen behind, they are not overly used – and Hawks actually uses outside shots of the cars driving, something not often seen at the time, particularly with the actors behind the wheel!

15. Content

16. Edge

    Tame 1.3

    For a 1940s film, there’s much you may already expect to be sanitised – but the double entendres and flirtation between Bogart and Bacall are so obvious as to seem obviously controversial for the time. Regardless, the film is tame – the subject matter isn’t, but it’s not like this film could be considered edgy.

17. Sex Innocent 1.4

18. Violence Gentle 1.5

19. Rudeness Polite 1.0

21. Reality

    Glib 1.6

    If this was any other crime story then perhaps it could be considered to be more realistic. However, this is a Raymond Chandler crime story – so the convolution and confusion concerning the amount of characters involved in one such murder case is incomprehensible. Not impossible in any sense, but the plot itself becomes so complex as to make the viewer wonder if indeed such a complex crime could be undertaken!

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.6

23. Biological Glib 1.6

24. Physical Glib 1.6