The Reckless Moment 04/13/19

One of Max Ophüls’ best American movies is a razor-sharp ‘domestic film noir’ with excellent acting and a premise that was probably too sordid-real for 1949: cheap crooks blackmail an ordinary housewife trying to protect her family. Joan Bennett confronts the crisis head-on, facing down James Mason’s unusually sympathetic ‘collector.’ It’s a low-key, sordid tale that almost feels like neo-realism … it’s compellingly believable. In his third American picture, Mason is probably the most attractive man in postwar film; he and Ms. Bennett form an unusual, lopsided emotional bond. On Blu-ray from Powerhouse Indicator.
04/13/19