G | Rottentomatoes.com Rating:100% | 1950 |
(Some drinking, chain-smoking and low necklines; very little objectionable) | Picky Flicks Quote: "For old-school Hollywood movie-making at its most polished, literate and sophisticated there is really nothing to match it." -Neil Smith, BBc | RUNTIME: 2 hrs. 19 min. |
Visit:www.screenit.com for complete details | Movie Mood:  Diva-ish |
All About Eve stars a fantastic Bette Davis as Margo Channing, an aging leading lady of the theater who can’t quite seem to cope with the setting of her star. She’s still got everything—fame, beauty (well, sort of; things are sliding a bit here and there), talent, a younger man who adores her. But all that glitters is not gold, and people’s intentions are not always what they seem on the surface. Enough clichés for you? All right, then.
Margo’s satisfaction with her life begins a downward spiral not long after eager, nubile Eve Harrington comes knocking on her dressing room door one rainy evening. Eve says she’s a backwards farm-girl who would love more than anything in the world to meet Miss Channing. After all, she’s her biggest fan and has seen every single one of her performances in her current play. If you miss the fanatical gleam in Eve’s eye at first, don’t beat yourself up too much. She’s so soft-spoken and demure that neither Margo nor her manager boyfriend, Bill, catches it either.
Eve is just that good. She self-deprecates and debases herself the entire while she’s gushing in wonder at the endless well of skill that Margo draws from. And if, as I’ve heard before, imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, well then she flatters the knickers right off of Miss Channing and every other well-known actor, director, and producer she meets. After all, how could a wide-eyed girl from the Midwest help but be wowed by the expertise of such venerable veterans?
Am I laying it on a bit thick? Yeah, well, she does too, and after a while, Margo starts realizing that she can’t even wear a dress without Eve’s showing up in almost exactly the same one. Of course, everything is still right where it should be on Eve’s perky little body, and before long, poor ol’ Margo’s feeling as if her boyfriend, her theater roles, her wardrobe—her very life—might not be as firmly in her possession as she once thought.
To be honest, not a great deal “happens” in All About Eve. Don’t get me wrong, there are definite plot points and developments (oh, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from a ridiculously young Marilyn Monroe in her very first screen appearance). But don’t expect any car-chases or all out catfights. Don’t expect to look away either, though. The acting, not to mention the writing, is phenomenal.
Everyone in the film deserves kudos for embodying the essence of his or her character, part of the reason All About Eve was nominated for fourteen Oscars, won seven, and is consistently included on practically every critic’s short list of greatest movies ever made. But it is the women—Davis and Baxter—who keep you riveted to the screen. (Strangely enough, both were nominated for Best Actress honors, instead of “Best” and “Best Supporting,” but neither won). Their nuanced performances are rich with subtle details, little eyebrow quirks, or muttered lines that lift a scale in their armor here and there so we can see the vulnerable flesh beneath.
Watching Margo try to self-destruct and alienate everyone around her in a tour de force of self-pity and loathing is at times painful, but only because it’s so real. Margo is the more exposed of the two, the one with the clock ticking deafeningly in her ear. But despite Eve’s poise and slick-as-snake-oil moves, she has a lot still to learn about the importance of knowing when to just walk away. If you find yourself vacillating between wanting to scratch Eve’s eyes out or hug her, you’re not alone. She’s just that sympathetically vicious.
The movie’s brilliant denouement, which has Eve opening up her door to discover a mirror image of her younger self—eager, wide-eyed, nubile—perched on her doorstep ready to memorize her every move, is the perfect blend of irony and heartbreaking truth.
Please go rent All About Eve. It’s such a classic you may still be able to find it at your local Blockbuster, 59 years after it first came into being. Now that’s good.
Until next Wednesday, stay picky. Your mind will thank you later!
Margo’s satisfaction with her life begins a downward spiral not long after eager, nubile Eve Harrington comes knocking on her dressing room door one rainy evening. Eve says she’s a backwards farm-girl who would love more than anything in the world to meet Miss Channing. After all, she’s her biggest fan and has seen every single one of her performances in her current play. If you miss the fanatical gleam in Eve’s eye at first, don’t beat yourself up too much. She’s so soft-spoken and demure that neither Margo nor her manager boyfriend, Bill, catches it either.
Eve is just that good. She self-deprecates and debases herself the entire while she’s gushing in wonder at the endless well of skill that Margo draws from. And if, as I’ve heard before, imitation truly is the sincerest form of flattery, well then she flatters the knickers right off of Miss Channing and every other well-known actor, director, and producer she meets. After all, how could a wide-eyed girl from the Midwest help but be wowed by the expertise of such venerable veterans?
Am I laying it on a bit thick? Yeah, well, she does too, and after a while, Margo starts realizing that she can’t even wear a dress without Eve’s showing up in almost exactly the same one. Of course, everything is still right where it should be on Eve’s perky little body, and before long, poor ol’ Margo’s feeling as if her boyfriend, her theater roles, her wardrobe—her very life—might not be as firmly in her possession as she once thought.
To be honest, not a great deal “happens” in All About Eve. Don’t get me wrong, there are definite plot points and developments (oh, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo from a ridiculously young Marilyn Monroe in her very first screen appearance). But don’t expect any car-chases or all out catfights. Don’t expect to look away either, though. The acting, not to mention the writing, is phenomenal.
Everyone in the film deserves kudos for embodying the essence of his or her character, part of the reason All About Eve was nominated for fourteen Oscars, won seven, and is consistently included on practically every critic’s short list of greatest movies ever made. But it is the women—Davis and Baxter—who keep you riveted to the screen. (Strangely enough, both were nominated for Best Actress honors, instead of “Best” and “Best Supporting,” but neither won). Their nuanced performances are rich with subtle details, little eyebrow quirks, or muttered lines that lift a scale in their armor here and there so we can see the vulnerable flesh beneath.
Watching Margo try to self-destruct and alienate everyone around her in a tour de force of self-pity and loathing is at times painful, but only because it’s so real. Margo is the more exposed of the two, the one with the clock ticking deafeningly in her ear. But despite Eve’s poise and slick-as-snake-oil moves, she has a lot still to learn about the importance of knowing when to just walk away. If you find yourself vacillating between wanting to scratch Eve’s eyes out or hug her, you’re not alone. She’s just that sympathetically vicious.
The movie’s brilliant denouement, which has Eve opening up her door to discover a mirror image of her younger self—eager, wide-eyed, nubile—perched on her doorstep ready to memorize her every move, is the perfect blend of irony and heartbreaking truth.
Please go rent All About Eve. It’s such a classic you may still be able to find it at your local Blockbuster, 59 years after it first came into being. Now that’s good.
Until next Wednesday, stay picky. Your mind will thank you later!
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2 comments:
Ummmm, great review except the leading lady is actually Bette Davis - Not Bette Midler. Although, Bette Davis IS who Bette Midler was named after!
To me, All About Eve is one of the most perfect movies ever made. Great story, fantastic cast & acting. Sensational costume (by the great Edith Head) and perfect script. They don't come much better than this!
Yikes! Apparently, my brain saw the word "Bette" and went with a familiar-sounding last name instead of actually typing Davis. How embarrassing. : |
Thanks for the heads up, and please accept my apologies, all of you out there who deservedly feel outraged at my sullying Bette Davis's superior acting abilities by linking her to the subpar Midler. That (particular) faux pas won't happen again! : )
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