Sunday

I'd often heard about, but never felt compelled enough to see, The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne. It's one of those films that some people quote as their favourite of all time, and so makes it a daunting prospect to watch. At first I was greatly disappointed. Bad blue-screening always puts me off, but here it seemed especially poor. And the music was overly assertive, seeming to try to force emotional moods upon the viewer, rather than enforce already present ones (a topic perhaps worth another post). What I began to notice, however, was that the dialogue was very good, and reasonably authentic to the Irish disposition, although slightly patronising - I suspect this is the type of film a lot of foreigners get their conceptions of Ireland from. Anyway, it did improve, and there were some remarkable moments. When we finally find out about the main character's history, his flaws and his failures, the story becomes gripping (and very similar to the excellent The Big Country, again worth a separate post). The image of the woman's hat stranded on a post in the wind was stunning. And indeed the photography of her, Maureen O'Hara, seemed suddenly striking whenever she appeared in close-up. The issue of her dowry was complicated and fascinating: she refuses her husband's advances until it is paid. For her, it is a symbol of her independence, freeing her from just being a servant passed from family to husband. Interesting. But overall the movie was slightly incoherent and rambling. It seemed to stop and start, and the occasional narrator didn't help at all. There was also an undertone of brutality towards women that was laughed off rather than commented upon. That said, the build up to the big fight at the end was quite brilliant, and had me on the edge of my seat: a drunkard starts humming a tune which is slowly picked up by the whole orchestra, and the action begins. Anyway, I'm sure this film has been analysed a hundred times by better critics, but I just thought I'd offer you my pure and unfiltered, first-hand impressions.