Classic Carol Reed

trojanjim

A GREAT MOVIE: classic performances, despite some miscasting with the women. The film never has any trouble deciding what it will be, despite the fact that some viewers seem put off by the shading of genres. Some of the comments above referring to a "weak" screenplay or Guinness's inability to fully develop the role only reveal how taste has changed over the years. This is classic British humor, of the black variety, very underplayed, as it always was done before the Brits succumbed to American taste. While his treatment is lighter than the book, Reed (a man, by the way, as others have noted) captures the wry cynicism of Greene perfectly. The film displays touches of the same sensibility that produced "The Third Man," which also contained humorous moments (The literary party for Holly Martins). Reed's juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy, while unsettling to some, is the essence of his profound commentary on "the spy game." As mentioned above, this deserves a DVD!!!

score 10/10

trojanjim 11 January 2005

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0997282/