 |
| Plot Summary: Rock Hudson became a beefcake star playing a self-absorbed, thrill-chasing millionaire playboy in the first of Douglas Sirk's Technicolor melodramas. In a classic example of the wicked machinations of soap opera fate, Hudson's showboating antics kill the most saintly man in motion-picture history and stalk his newlywed widow (Jane Wyman), driving her into an accident that leaves her blind. The kindly attentions of a bohemian painter and part-time guardian angel help turn Hudson's life around, and he rejects his irresponsible lifestyle and dedicates himself to his new "magnificent obsession" of philanthropy and good deeds, meanwhile romancing Wyman in a sincere, soft-spoken voice and with a phony name. (Summary from www.imdb.com) |
| My view on the movie: I've been a fan of Rock Hudson since my local cable station picked up an American Classics channel in the early 90's. So it didn't come as too much surprise to me that when I finally sat down to watch Magnificent Obsession, I had already seen it. It was this vague feeling at first. It crept up on me like the foggy fugue that my young-but-not-so-great memory often resembles. Then it hit me, at one particularly overwrought but memberable line: "It will consume you. It will become an obsession. You will become a doctor, and when you do, it will be a magnificent obsession." I recall laughing at the cheeseiness factor of that line. But I also remember that I sat through the whole of the movie. I don't do that unless I find something pleasing. For me, that pleasing quality came in three forms: Rock Hudson, Jane Wyman, and the director (who I now know is Douglas Sirk.) The characters Hudson and Wyman play are so over the top -- so ridiculous, but for some reason that I can only attribute to their quality of acting, I liked them. They were full of emotion and chemistry. I didn't believe their characters to be real but I wanted them to be. Part of this feeling lies on the director as well. Magnificent Obsession has one of the most contrived, outlandish plots ever to grace the screen, but Sirk makes it work. Either through his acting direction or through his lush use of color and backdrop sceenary (I'm a sucker for technicolor), Sirk takes a very unreal idea and infuses it with life. He grounds it (although, maybe only momentarily) to our world. I'm not sure if I would recommend this film to anyone. I'm not even sure I'll remember it once I'm finished this short review (obviously, the film didn't leave a mark on me eariler), but it wasn't that bad. I've definitely seen worse. |