(1951, Dir. Billy Wilder)
In Short: A washed-up reporter goes to far trying to get his big break. There's something awful about knowing how a movie is going to end. I've had a lot of movies with famously twisty endings spoiled for me before I saw them. I still enjoyed them, nonetheless, but it's not quite the same. (Mega Spoilers) Ace in the Hole doesn't have a twist ending, exactly, but it does have an interesting one. I didn't know the ending going into watching the film--in fact, I knew almost nothing about the movie whatsoever. But as the story raced towards its upsetting conclusion, I realized that I knew not how it would end, but how it had to end. Leo Spinosa has to die for the story to work. It's awful, and it's heartbreaking, but that's what drives the point home. Nothing is learned if Leo Spinosa makes it out all right, because then Chuck Tatum has gotten exactly the story he wants with no repercussions. That's the exact opposite of the point. Tatum did an awful thing in trying to get the story he wanted, and for him to learn that, Leo Spinosa had to die. Is that fair to Leo Spinosa? Absolutely not. Is it even fair to the audience, who's invested in what seems like his probable survival? No way! (End spoilers) The end, of course, isn't the only part of this movie. This film is great at turning expectations on their heads. Leo Spinosa's wife is not the worried, doting, sweet type of a woman who an audience would expect to see in this kind of a disaster set-up. She's uncaring and selfish--much like Tatum himself. Even though he's the protagonist, he's no hero. In reading about this film, I was surprised to learn that it was a critical and commercial failure--director Wilder's first real flop. I can see where it might lack entertainment value for some--it's a little slow on the action in parts, and sometimes, unlikable characters simply repel audiences--but the writing, acting, and technical aspects of the film all stand out as very good to me (but I'm no expert). It's an interestingly shot movie with a messed-up plot that features complex characters. Though a huge departure from the typically sugar-coated world found in most of Hollywood's films in the 1950s, it's real food for thought, and I liked it a lot.
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AuthorEileen here, writing reviews for film class. Archives
April 2018
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