Apr 02, 2014
Directed by Carol Reed, The Third Man is an enjoyable adaptation of the novella of the same name by Graham Greene. Interestingly, the novella was originally intended to serve as a screenplay of sorts as its author hoped it would be picked up by Hollywood execs and be turned into a feature film. It is for this reason that the story effortlessly translates onto the screen and play as a very well done adaptation. The film, like all good films should, draws from a number of different sources to use varying techniques to tell its story. Like the novella, the film is about a struggling writer who intends to find who killed his friend he was supposed to be staying with during his stay in Italy. The backdrop of a post WWII Italy doesn't add too much to the plot directly, aside of fleshing out the world and giving it a sense of believability. The performances by the film's cast are all top-notch, playing to conventions of the Film Noir genre, and having immense fun while doing so. Reed shows his craft skills in a film that never slows down and always keeps its audience interested.
I have much more to say about the film creatively as its visual language for me is the much more rich aspect of the film. Drawing from the Western, German Expressionism, and Italian Neo-Realism, it runs at a rampant pace from the very opening sequence, and thankfully never slows down. The pace of even the establishing sequence is frenetic, and may be confusing to some. However, it makes sense in the grand scheme of the film, as it's meant to set up the pace for the film's climatic sequence in the sewers. We expect to come back to a frantic scene like the opening, and Reed gives us just that. Our hero is decked out in all the Noir staples - fedora, trench coat, and a nice suit. He loves a good glass of liquor and isn't afraid to approach a woman he's enchanted with. By making him a "convention" The audience is immediately comfortable with our hero. Sure he's not perfect and in no way a "good moral" character, but we know what he's about just by looking at him. Reed is smart in playing to staples of the Noir genre so that he can focus his attention on the plot - the mystery, what happened to Henry Lime? Ms. Schmidt is another example of this. Almost every scene has some sort of double entendre going on, usually through the dialogue. Ms. Schmidt as a character for example, is an actress, which is almost always used to echo someone's own character arch in the plot. Actors are people who pretend, and become other people - and as the plot thickens, we see Schmidt do this herself, wanting to become one thing for Holly while holding onto the life she had with Lime; we're never really sure if she's leading Holly on until the last act. In the scene in which Holly and Schmidt go to a bar, they both drink whiskey, and one of the villains, Baron Kurtz, orders two double whiskeys. This is an implication that he is a double-crosser, one who isn't honest with Schmidt or Holly. "The third man" in question is portrayed wonderfully by Orson Welles, who conveys a tragic man who wants to be left alone and hold onto Schmidt, his love. This motif of "having your cake and eating it too" is in some way portrayed by every character. Visual motifs are used constantly, through alcohol, a small boy, and animals. Cats seem to be associated with the protagonist, but shown in a scene of calm, while a small dog belongs to Kurtz, an antagonist, implying that he is a "dog". Lime and Holly meet at a rundown carnival - a place of fun juxtaposing this dramatic, intense moment between friends as their friendship is coming undone. They hop aboard a Ferris wheel and as they reach the top the wheel, so does the height of their conversation. The final shot of the film combines all of the film styles that Reed employs. It is a long shot, composed to let the audience notice the background, a landscape; this is a western convention. It shows our hero, smoking, waiting for his woman, leaving his airplane ticket for love; very much a noir setup. And finally, instead of running to his arms for the smooch that would seal it all, she rejects him, off to fulfill her own life. She doesn't need a man right now; employing realism. This is fantastically executed film and one for any who enjoy Film Noir and its charming conventions.
Verified