Leave Her to Heaven (1945) Review

Title: Leave Her to Heaven
Year: 1945
Director: John M. Stahl
Country: US
Language: English

Have you ever watched a classic movie and thought "How did THIS get made!?" Not because of quality, but rather, subject matter. How did Leave Her to Heaven pass the unrelenting censors of the Hays Code when other pictures had to recut entire scenes to make theatrical distribution? This film has one of the most perverse and remorseless femme fatales in the history of cinema. 

A writer falls in love with a young socialite named Ellen Harland (Gene Tierney) and they're soon married, but her obsessive love for him threatens to be the undoing of them both as well as everyone around them.

While most femme fatales have driven motivations - money, security, love - Ellen Harland's issue is more psychological and Freudian. She desires to conform to traditional femininity, but her impulsive emotions and obsession make this an impossibility. She is at odds with her society, and thus finds her self succumbing to madness. 

Filmed in beautiful technicolor, Leave Her to Heaven has the look of a Douglas Sirk melodrama (John Stahl is known as a director of "women's pictures") , but its as cold as Double Indemnity.  Tierney is a beautiful woman, often thought of as one of the most beautiful women in cinema, but her actions definitely make us forget about the beauty. 

Leave Her to Heaven is a well made film with a remarkable script and stunning cinematography. This picture transcends what you thought a noir could be, albeit at nearly 2 hours it feels a bit long. If this film cut 20-30 minutes it would be one of the best colour-noirs of all time. Overall it's a fascinating one-time viewing. 

Challengers (2024) Review

Title: Challengers
Year: 2024
Director: Luca Guadagino
Country: US
Language: English

With Call Me By Your Name (2017) and Bones and All (2022) in his filmography, it would seem Director Luca Guadagino is no stranger to portraying complex, multi-faceted relationships unfold on the big screen. Using tennis to portray a love-triangle is bold, and easily could have fell apart with a poor screenplay, but thankfully Guadagino works with Past Lives (2023) playwright Justin Kuritzkes to weave a fascinating character study of three intense athletes. 

Tashi (Zendaya) , a former tennis prodigy turned coach, transformed her husband (Mike Faist)  into a champion. But to overcome a recent losing streak and redeem himself, he'll need to face off against his former best friend, and Tashi's ex-boyfriend (Josh O' Connor).

The film's narrative leaps back and forth, between present day and the past. The structure does a great job at slowly revealing the positions of each participant in this love triangle. Advertised as the "sexy threesome" movie; Challengers is far more interested in how body language and subtle conversation add to the story structure & creates an engaging work of art. 

The cinematography, by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, provides an array of unique camerawork that makes a tennis match feel like a visual epic event. The electronic score, by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, gives Challengers a pulsating, energetic feel that intensifies the emotions onscreen. 

Challengers proves that Zendaya should be a big star. Her ability to emote through small shifts in her body language is outstanding. Faist (West Side Story) & O'Connor (God's Own Country) are also perfectly cast. This may become my favourite film of 2024, it is superb in every way.