TOUCH OF EVIL is a film I would have never considered watching, but the timeless mystery of it was extremely addictive I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. The film begins with an intense opening scene which had me on the edge of my seat. The audience knew the bomb was in the trunk of the car which constantly moved closer and further away from the characters Mike and Susie Vargas, the newlyweds. The beauty of this scene was the intensity and anticipation of what was going to happen. It captures the audiences attention and begins the question of "who done it?" early on.
The ensemble cast varies in acting styles and appearances. Charleton Heston playing a sexy mexican detective, Mike Vargas, was the last person I would have thought to play a mexican, and was almost too tan, but it's Charleton Heston so he can do whatever he wants. His relationship with Susie Vargas, Janet Leigh, bridges the gap between America and Mexico. Leigh plays the helpless damsel in distress and tends to get herself into extremely awful situations. On the other side of happiness is Quinlan, played by Orson Welles, the disgruntled detective who everyone looks up to but is unhappy with his life. Welles sets the bar for all of these stereotyped characters in future films. I'm not sure if it was the cigar that he continued to chew on or the fact his voice was very similiar to Mr. Potter's from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, but Welles defines the term 'badass' in this film even if he was considered to be a bad guy. Minor characters including Uncle Joe, Tanya-the fortune teller lady, the 50's greaser Mexicans who stalked Susie, and the extremely akward yet adorable night manager at the motel all had one liners or essential scenes which makes this film a classic.
The lighting throughout the film was also an extreme element in the overall greatness of this film. Ironically, most of the types of lighting Stacy talked about before we watched the film were included in this movie. I was familiar with the Film Noir style of lighting, usually with a shadow around the face and only the eyes lit up or some other variation of that, but the lighting in this film was extreme and beautiful. Most of the characters, especially Quinlan, had hard lighting, but it was nice to see the soft lighting on female characters (Susie, Tanya-the fortune teller). Shadows! Shadows! Shadows! was what I wrote in my notes, they appeared EVERYWHERE! Tall shadows, bulky shadows, whatever kind of shadow they presented a form of mystery or a threat, and always left me asking, "What is happening? Is this guy good or bad?" Although Vargas (Heston) is attractive, and well liked, there were certain times the lighting on his face created a mystery or question of his integrity, and I found myself siding with Quinlan for a scene or two, just because of the shadow on his face! I think that is what makes a good 'who done it?' film, when you're so NOT sure, you begin to question the protagonist!
Julia Andria
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Julia,
ReplyDeleteVery well written essay. Your discussion of lighting is nice, as you utilize the technical terms and include insightful interpretation of that lighting. What about setting? How does the Mexican/American border become an appropriate, or inappropriate for that matter, place for "evil" Americans to hide. What could not only say about the larger plot, but also possible hidden political messages overall about American attitudes on illegal immigration and Mexicans in general? Also, here its useful also to consider the specific locations, such as the motel, Tanya's flat, the city streets of the Mexican border town, etc.
Stacy