The Marriage Circle
I would have never seen this movie if it were not offered on Netflix, honestly. I don’t even like watching silent films, with some very few exceptions (which are mostly either slapstick like Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton films). This film however just cries “I want dialogue!” to me. Of course dialogue is not suited for such a film, and the film definitely does its best to compensate it with some nice actors and a few great twists in the story.
But really, this is pretty much the first Lubitsch that did not make me laugh yet. It makes a lot of sense and a lot of it really is funny, but seriously I don’t quite find it as deep or enjoyable as I thought. The characters are fairly shallow, but without dialogue they are also missing the wit . You don’t quite learn anything about their attitude, their. Basically you just see them running into funny misunderstandings caused by one intrigant woman who would be a some silly plot device if it were not played by this very charming and wonderfully evil-looking actress.
I liked the story and I’m happy that it turned out so well, but I’m not such a big fan of this film. Maybe I just haven’t seen enough silent films? Or rather, I am too used to the luxury of seeing them live?
PS. I am totally in love with this round-ish hair ornament:
