A few years ago, this film was completely restored and has recently become a classic to many people. Because of this, I expected a lot from the film. Imagine the surprise when I saw it...and I felt like the film was just chock full of plot problems.
The story is set in the household of a nice-guy music teacher. He's very devoted to his family...and that's much of the reason so much of the movie doesn't make sense. You see, after clearly establishing in the film that he's a very nice guy, the family gets a crazy manipulative maid and she seduces him. Then, after she becomes pregnant, she falls down the steps and she loses her baby. It gets REALLY crazy now...she then murders one of his children in front of the family and they do NOT call the police or throw her out because the wife and husband are worried the publicity will cause him to lose his job!!! Then, through the remainder of the film, she torments and threatens the family repeatedly. Then, after a crazy ending, you find out it's all a dream and the guy (who WAS dead) then lectures the audience about affairs!!
So what didn't I like? Well a lot of it was just how unbelievable the plot became. A film might get the audience to suspend disbelief once...but not again and again and again...which you have to do here. Also, what makes it worse is that early in the film you see rat poison and again and again the film telegraphs that this will be instrumental to the film. Why is this a classic? Perhaps because the acting is good and the plot salacious. But it lacks believability and really annoyed me because of that, the poison and the cop-out ending. Not a classic in my mind.
The story is set in the household of a nice-guy music teacher. He's very devoted to his family...and that's much of the reason so much of the movie doesn't make sense. You see, after clearly establishing in the film that he's a very nice guy, the family gets a crazy manipulative maid and she seduces him. Then, after she becomes pregnant, she falls down the steps and she loses her baby. It gets REALLY crazy now...she then murders one of his children in front of the family and they do NOT call the police or throw her out because the wife and husband are worried the publicity will cause him to lose his job!!! Then, through the remainder of the film, she torments and threatens the family repeatedly. Then, after a crazy ending, you find out it's all a dream and the guy (who WAS dead) then lectures the audience about affairs!!
So what didn't I like? Well a lot of it was just how unbelievable the plot became. A film might get the audience to suspend disbelief once...but not again and again and again...which you have to do here. Also, what makes it worse is that early in the film you see rat poison and again and again the film telegraphs that this will be instrumental to the film. Why is this a classic? Perhaps because the acting is good and the plot salacious. But it lacks believability and really annoyed me because of that, the poison and the cop-out ending. Not a classic in my mind.