[psycho d]

In a Lonely Place (1950). Film noir that didn't read rules, this wonderful classic is as dark as they come without ever showing anything more than a fist fight or two. Instead, it's black nature is born from a manifest destiny stained by the resolute nature of doomed love, of characters we want to root for but inevitably let us down. Humphrey Bogart churns out the role of his life, and that is saying something. His character is tough to nail down, a volatile and likable character that exudes a mystifying aura that something just ain't right. But what exactly "ain't right" just does not compute. Add to this Gloria Grahame's "Laurel", a knockout with a past and a presence that competes with the dame in Double Indemnity, her infectious sensuality eliciting a competing sense of attraction and trepidation. She simply seems to good to be true. The remainder of the cast is just as impressive, standouts all of them but left in the penumbra our our lead characters. The story, direction, and camera work all come together smoothly to fabricate one of the all-time classic greats, a movie that should be seen time and again. With an unsolved homicide lurking in the background, this story gets twisted up between the damnable bullseye of one of Cupid's naughty arrows and a suspicion that is midwifed by an overzealous police captain. The result comes to a dramatically furious denouement laced with dialog whose clairvoyance might have served to sculpt such a magically dreary ending.
Genruk