A blend of suspense and dark romance, The Dark Mirror is a well acted film which at most showcases the impressive acting ability of Olivia De Havilland.
Starting as a darkly atmospheric piece after a murder is committed, the investigation quickly moves onto a suspect named Collins, a woman who was a known associate of the murder victim. However the apparently simple investigation goes into a tailspin when it's revealed Collins is one half of identical twins. It must have been a daunting task as a performer to take on the roles of protagonist and antagonist in the same film yet Olivia De Havilland pulls it off to great conviction. Playing the parts of Terry, a cunning and manipulative psychopath and Terry's twin Ruth, a shy and more naive woman. By changing her mannerisms, vocal tone and demeanour for both roles De Havilland showed to spectacular range of her acting ability.
Although the acting on show by De Havilland and others in The Dark Mirror was top standard, the same cannot be said for the narrative. It starts off well with the dilemma of identical twins causing The Dark Mirror to become a gripping mysterious piece along with the wise cracking dialogue between Detective Stevenson and Terry adding to the film's aura. Yet when the narrative shifts from thriller to dark romance with the introduction of Doctor Elliot, a man who falls for Ruth yet bitters Terry into jealously, The Dark Mirror becomes tedious due to its predictability. Although the acting throughout the romantic portion of the narrative makes for emotional involvement it also makes the actions of Terry, Ruth and Doctor Elliot predictable resulting in being able to know the narrative's outcome before its reached.
On a lighter note The Dark Mirror has a good amount of comic relief served up by Thomas Mitchell as Detective Stevenson, whose wise cracks create breathing space from the drama and earlier on has great chemistry with De Havilland as her more sinister character. Unfortunately this tense relationship is under developed due to relatively small role Mitchell plays here. The comic relief also comes in the revelation of Collins being an identical twin particularly for the witnesses who are dazed by this fact resulting in a few laughs on the audience's part.
Although story wise The Dark Mirror is not the most superb of films, it does not get in the way of the fine acting on display which for a time entices us into the narrative.
Starting as a darkly atmospheric piece after a murder is committed, the investigation quickly moves onto a suspect named Collins, a woman who was a known associate of the murder victim. However the apparently simple investigation goes into a tailspin when it's revealed Collins is one half of identical twins. It must have been a daunting task as a performer to take on the roles of protagonist and antagonist in the same film yet Olivia De Havilland pulls it off to great conviction. Playing the parts of Terry, a cunning and manipulative psychopath and Terry's twin Ruth, a shy and more naive woman. By changing her mannerisms, vocal tone and demeanour for both roles De Havilland showed to spectacular range of her acting ability.
Although the acting on show by De Havilland and others in The Dark Mirror was top standard, the same cannot be said for the narrative. It starts off well with the dilemma of identical twins causing The Dark Mirror to become a gripping mysterious piece along with the wise cracking dialogue between Detective Stevenson and Terry adding to the film's aura. Yet when the narrative shifts from thriller to dark romance with the introduction of Doctor Elliot, a man who falls for Ruth yet bitters Terry into jealously, The Dark Mirror becomes tedious due to its predictability. Although the acting throughout the romantic portion of the narrative makes for emotional involvement it also makes the actions of Terry, Ruth and Doctor Elliot predictable resulting in being able to know the narrative's outcome before its reached.
On a lighter note The Dark Mirror has a good amount of comic relief served up by Thomas Mitchell as Detective Stevenson, whose wise cracks create breathing space from the drama and earlier on has great chemistry with De Havilland as her more sinister character. Unfortunately this tense relationship is under developed due to relatively small role Mitchell plays here. The comic relief also comes in the revelation of Collins being an identical twin particularly for the witnesses who are dazed by this fact resulting in a few laughs on the audience's part.
Although story wise The Dark Mirror is not the most superb of films, it does not get in the way of the fine acting on display which for a time entices us into the narrative.