Day
90 An
American in Paris [1951]
Screenplay Alan Jay Lerner
Director Vincente Minelli
Cinematography Alfred Gilks (& John Alton)
Music George Gershwin (&
Ira Gershwin)
Leads Gene
Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary, Nina Foch
Production Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
IMDb 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes 95%
I’m
endeavouring to watch a few more so-called ‘classics’ on this blog as it is
supposed to be an exploration of film. However, I’m aware it has so far been
mostly post-millennium, American films. It may take me a while to get away from
the American ones, but I'll start by going back in time. I struggle with older
films – they are so much a product of their time that they can get stuck back
there. Forever remembered by the older generation, but slowly to be forgotten
as Hollywood churns out blockbuster after blockbuster, independent and world
cinema become ever more popular, and distributors are pressured to produce new
content faster and faster. This film may well fall into that forgotten
category. It is a fantastic musical, but a second-rate movie. The actors are
not really actors, they are singers and dancers. Their singing and dancing is
sublime, but their acting pales in comparison to what we expect from actors
nowadays. The plot is cheesy and although it had its moments they would then
overdo it. For example, the scene where Adam (Levant) is stuck in between Jerry
(Kelly) and Henri (Guétary), knowing that they are in love with the same woman, is hilarious at first. We and Adam both know the secret and we watch as Adam
nervously drinks his brandy/coffee and tries to smoke his cigarettes whilst
Henri gives Jerry advice on how to steal his girl. However, they over emphasise
this nervousness up to the point where it becomes slapstick. It reminded me of
when you laugh at children for doing something funny – they will then repeat
whatever it is to monotony simply because they think you always find it hilarious.
It ruined what was already a humorous scene. The other parts of the film I
enjoyed were the two dream sequences – Adam’s one-man concert and of course the
(roughly) 20-minute ballet that the film is famous for. The set design,
costumes and camera work were all exceptional, especially for their age, but
the story and acting let it down for me. If I’m being extra cynical I think Gene
Kelly steals the limelight from everyone else. We know he’s the star, but he
and Minelli seem to slam this in our face over-and-over until I started rooting
for Henri to win Lisa (Caron) over. If you love song and dance, especially the
music of that era, then this is the film for you. I loved those parts, but the
rest of it just wasn’t for me.
Acting 2 / 4
Writing 2 / 4
Cinematography 4 / 4
Music 4 / 4
HWF rating 2 / 4