Magnificent Obsession (1954)

Nominated for 1 Academy Award:

Best Actress: Jane Wyman

 

This is not the first Jane Wyman film I am seeing, but it’s my first from her 4 Oscar nominations. It’s also not my first directed by Douglas Sirk, I’d seen Written on the Wind (didn’t care for it) and, of course, Imitation of Life, multiple times. And I often love a good melodrama, and I like Rock Hudson (Pillow Talk is an all-time favourite of mine) and I love the way Sirk uses colour and his beautiful cinematography.

And then, considering all these relevant reasons, the movie starts… and it’s pretty bad. Like the dialogue in the first 30 minutes is just bad. Everything is overexplained and it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. And then a shocker happens, and then the film gradually gets better and better. There are some truly outrageous things happening in the screenplay, but the acting is good and the directing is good, so you just go with the flow. The Switzerland scenes are beautiful. Jane Wyman acts her heart out in that hotel room scene and the film starts working. I was captivated by the end, waiting to see what will happen next. Good melodrama.

 

I give it: 8/10

IMDB LINK