I'm not such a deadheaded movie watcher that I have to watch films three times to "get" them, so I can't explain why I would watch "The Big Sleep" three times and still not "get" it. I can follow the plot easily enough, although it seems like a drudgery. I have no problem with the characters as they're written, and the actions they take throughout. I think the reason I get so bored with this movie has to do with the main creative talents in it.
Otherwise, I have kind things to say about Howard Hawks ("Scarface," "Rio Bravo," "Bringing up Baby") as well as Humphrey Bogart ("Casablanca," "The African Queen") and Lauren Bacall (can't remember what I've seen her in, and as good looking as she is, that probably means I've never seen another of her movies, so maybe I'm stretching it to say I have kind things to say), but in this movie, the overly gentle pacing and lack of any sort of score to stir my cinemaphiliac soul I blame on the director, and the apathy I feel for Philip Marlowe and Vivian Rutledge as they wander through this bitter drama I blame on Humphrey and Lauren. They deliver their lines well enough, but it seems even they don't have any sympathy for the characters they're supposed to play.
It's mildly pleasant to watch, but it's so far away from the better film noir I've seen (nothing touches "Double Indemnity") and not even the best Marlowe ever filmed (Elliott Gould in Robert Altman's "The Long Goodbye") that I can't credit it with being an interesting film or a very watchable movie. Three times was enough to still not "get" whatever is so great about this movie. I will be very desperate to ever give it a fourth watching.
Otherwise, I have kind things to say about Howard Hawks ("Scarface," "Rio Bravo," "Bringing up Baby") as well as Humphrey Bogart ("Casablanca," "The African Queen") and Lauren Bacall (can't remember what I've seen her in, and as good looking as she is, that probably means I've never seen another of her movies, so maybe I'm stretching it to say I have kind things to say), but in this movie, the overly gentle pacing and lack of any sort of score to stir my cinemaphiliac soul I blame on the director, and the apathy I feel for Philip Marlowe and Vivian Rutledge as they wander through this bitter drama I blame on Humphrey and Lauren. They deliver their lines well enough, but it seems even they don't have any sympathy for the characters they're supposed to play.
It's mildly pleasant to watch, but it's so far away from the better film noir I've seen (nothing touches "Double Indemnity") and not even the best Marlowe ever filmed (Elliott Gould in Robert Altman's "The Long Goodbye") that I can't credit it with being an interesting film or a very watchable movie. Three times was enough to still not "get" whatever is so great about this movie. I will be very desperate to ever give it a fourth watching.
