04/22/2002 Entry:
"The Little Foxes - William Wyler (1941)"

I had never seen a Bette Davis movie before, and this was really great. Man she sure can play a bitch well. Amazing how the subject matter - the rise of greed over the good of a community - is being played out today more than ever. I like how the class issues are addressed, with the servants being portrayed in a much more sympathetic light than most of the main characters. The scene where they feed the neighborhood kids off the back porch seems to be the only place this is played out directly, although the subtext is felt throughout the film. Its kind of put to the background. At first I didn't think the inclusion of a class statement was completely intentional and I was just reading into it since I've recently seen Gosford Park and been thinking about its relation back to Rules Of The Game, but the more I think about it, the more deliberate it seems. It also feeds into the main theme, about how the main characters treat everyone around them like garbage, or even worse as if they simply aren't there. Its really great to see a period piece set in 1900 seem fresh and vital in the modern age.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the cinematography by Gregg Toland. This was his first film after Citizen Kane, and although its less showy the cinematography is marvelous. There's a scene where Bette Davis is walking around a room, discussing a business deal putting while putting out candles with a snuffer thing (apologies for being a modern heathen unfamiliar with such things.) The way the light is handled in this scene is great, as she snuffs out the candles this darkness follows her around the room. Its like for every candle she snuffs out, she drags that much more life out of her town and the people around her. A lot of great group compositions as well, people perfectly placed within the frame with deep focus. Bethany chose this and I had never heard of it, and I have to give her credit. I really got a lot out of this viewing.