This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

"I feel lost."

Varda's film is both ahead of its time and tragically relevant today. However, while there is a message, Varda wisely focuses on the lives and friendship of two women. It shows the pressures and impact of societal norms and how Thérèse and Valérie participate in, violate, and change the idea of womanhood. It's just great.

Also, is this a musical?

Noirvember: Film 9

"You ought to have heard Stan spout the gospel to that old hypocrite. It was like being in Sunday school."

I guess I have an issue with the stakes and characters in this film. The stakes are "eternal," aka nonexistent, and the characters are either terrible or gullible. There's some excellent direction from the man who crafted The Grand Hotel. The acting's strong too, but then, there's the crappy message, and I just didn't buy Power's fall. This wasn't for me.

Noirvember: Film 8

"There's nothing like a love song to give you a good laugh."

I mean, isn't the alcohol running out inherently stressful? Hitchcock has to go and add like camera angles and lighting and stuff. I need a drink.

But seriously, this is worth watching for Bergman alone. The fun, lush Bergman is magic. Her romance is awesome. I'm a little sad that the ending sidelines her a bit, but I also think the very ending is perfect. Not to mention, Rains gives one of his best performances. He's just likable, and yet is also the villain!

How is this not mentioned in the same breath as Vertigo and Suspicion? It is the predessessor of both works, and it surpasses the latter. Rebecca brings Gothic romance to the screen with all the grandeur, mystery, and melodrama of the genre. A lesser actor would have made Olivier's character unlikable. Joan Fontaine brings both shy vulnerability and haunted seriousness in a role that could easily be stupid or weak. Judith Anderson delivers pure insanity. Definitely one of Hitchcock's best.