The second of two successive silent movies made in Weimar Germany directed by G W Pabst and starring Louise Brooks, I watched them in order, this one after "Pandora's Box" and I'm glad I did, as while both are very good, I found this to be the better movie. Brooks doesn't display the same levels of charged sexuality here, but her character arc is much more rounded here and she modifies her performance accordingly bringing extra depth and maturity to her role.
It's a story old as time, as she plays the young daughter of a clearly philandering father, a wealthy chemist. Tricked into a secret rendezvous by her father's creepy, sleazy assistant, he gets her drunk and then rapes her while she sleeps. Made pregnant, society mores dictate she marry her violator, which is where she shows her spirit in refusing to do so, even if it means she will lose her good name and have to leave the family home in shame.
. She's firstly taken to a reformatory school run by a hulking disciplinarian and his near-sadistic wife who whips herself into a near-orgasmic state of arousal as she puts her young charges through a frenzied keep-fit routine.
Eventually, she escapes this hellish place and takes to a life on the street which eventually sees her end up in a brothel, where she at least has the protection of the madame and the friendship and indeed comradeship of the other girls in the establishment.
In the background though is the penniless son of a duke who tracks her down and duly marries her to improve her social standing, but it's the death of her father which gives her the chance of real wealth and a life of ease, something her titled husband eagerly anticipates. It culminates in a single act of mercy and generosity which will clearly affect her future life going forward, but at least leads to an uplifting closing statement which gives us some hope that Thymian's path won't be quite as troubled as it has been so far in her short life.
For sure the plot is high melodrama and to some, that last scene might seem like an early instance of "happy ending" syndrome, but actually I was prepared to accept the conclusion which puts humanity and charity above her own personal gain, even if it comes at a terrible personal cost. Criticised at the time for being too realistic in her acting style, modern eyes should find her downplaying far more preferable to the exaggerated playing by some of the rest of the cast.
Brooks again is excellent in the lead part. She still has her trademark bobbed hair-style, looks great no matter the clothes she wears and plays her role refreshingly free of artifice. I also was admiring of Pabst's naturalistic direction. Yes, a number of the actors, particularly the heavies, overdo their face-acting, but besides an over-reliance on close-ups, there were plenty of shots to admire where the camera set-ups are fluid and imaginative.
I'm only sorry actor and director didn't work together again especially on such modern, adult material like this.
It's a story old as time, as she plays the young daughter of a clearly philandering father, a wealthy chemist. Tricked into a secret rendezvous by her father's creepy, sleazy assistant, he gets her drunk and then rapes her while she sleeps. Made pregnant, society mores dictate she marry her violator, which is where she shows her spirit in refusing to do so, even if it means she will lose her good name and have to leave the family home in shame.
. She's firstly taken to a reformatory school run by a hulking disciplinarian and his near-sadistic wife who whips herself into a near-orgasmic state of arousal as she puts her young charges through a frenzied keep-fit routine.
Eventually, she escapes this hellish place and takes to a life on the street which eventually sees her end up in a brothel, where she at least has the protection of the madame and the friendship and indeed comradeship of the other girls in the establishment.
In the background though is the penniless son of a duke who tracks her down and duly marries her to improve her social standing, but it's the death of her father which gives her the chance of real wealth and a life of ease, something her titled husband eagerly anticipates. It culminates in a single act of mercy and generosity which will clearly affect her future life going forward, but at least leads to an uplifting closing statement which gives us some hope that Thymian's path won't be quite as troubled as it has been so far in her short life.
For sure the plot is high melodrama and to some, that last scene might seem like an early instance of "happy ending" syndrome, but actually I was prepared to accept the conclusion which puts humanity and charity above her own personal gain, even if it comes at a terrible personal cost. Criticised at the time for being too realistic in her acting style, modern eyes should find her downplaying far more preferable to the exaggerated playing by some of the rest of the cast.
Brooks again is excellent in the lead part. She still has her trademark bobbed hair-style, looks great no matter the clothes she wears and plays her role refreshingly free of artifice. I also was admiring of Pabst's naturalistic direction. Yes, a number of the actors, particularly the heavies, overdo their face-acting, but besides an over-reliance on close-ups, there were plenty of shots to admire where the camera set-ups are fluid and imaginative.
I'm only sorry actor and director didn't work together again especially on such modern, adult material like this.