Portrait of Jennie
Portrait of Jennie
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Portrait of Jennie

Portrait of Jennie

1948
Romance, Drama
1h 26m
Eben Adams is a struggling artist in Depression era New York who has never been able to find inspiration for a painting. One day, after he finally finds someone to buy a painting from him, a young girl named Jennie Appleton appears and strikes up an unusual friendship with Eben. (imdb)

Portrait of Jennie

1948
Romance, Drama
1h 26m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 66.32% from 254 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(258)
Compact view
Compact view
Rated 27 Jan 2010
81
48th
Starts out looking like a masterpiece, but disappoints a bit at the end.
Rated 04 Feb 2007
72
41st
An unusual romance with a supernatural twist to it. The highlight is the cinematography, lots of picture-postcard moments with soft lighting. Cotten is always a pleasure and Barrymore's character is quite likeable. On the downside, the film drowns under the wall-to-wall Debussy score. Also, the dialogue and narration deals too heavily in useless romantic abstractions, but I suppose some people like that sort of thing. Overall, it's a nice, touching movie.
Rated 26 Dec 2023
70
42nd
I have some lingering skepticism about this one. I think it's a beautifully shot film. It has a hazy, poetic aura that fits it's supernatural story, and the use of real locations like Central Park is still quite unusual in the late 40's. I just found my suspension of disbelief to be severely tested by how casually dumb Cotten's character is. His performance is wonderful, but he's written to just blatantly ignore how obviously supernatural his situation is.
Rated 09 Jul 2023
8
98th
tired: PORTRAIT OF JENNIE influenced VERTIGO. wired: PORTRAIT OF JENNIE influenced TWIXT!
Rated 03 Oct 2021
70
96th
Known as the film that sunk the mighty David O. Selznick. Portrait of Jennie (1948) is a damn good movie. A bit much when it comes to it's dreamy romance and arty-farty presentation, but there's a lot of ambition here. Jennifer Jones was as hauntingly stunning as she was supposed to be. You have two such grand old ladies as Lillian Gish & Ethel Barrymore giving their eternal input. But mainly its the presentation that soaks in beauty that makes this one shine.
Rated 04 Sep 2021
75
38th
Stylistically beautiful; the use of fog, shadows and slightly distorted perspectives to provide a dreamy feel to the moments that underline the unstable balance between memories, emotions and the nature of reality. However, this whimsicality is laid on too thick both as a moral of the story and as a vehicle of narration.
Rated 10 Feb 2019
85
59th
Viewed February 9, 2019.
Rated 01 Jan 2019
70
58th
Some really great images, but a little too predictable and hammy for even me..
Rated 30 Nov 2017
69
53rd
What a let-down ending.
Rated 24 Nov 2017
70
77th
The structure is kind of magical and Cotten really sells it.
Rated 21 Oct 2016
25
61st
Hg
Rated 07 Jan 2016
92
91st
Dieterle era definitivamente dos grandes.
Rated 28 Aug 2014
77
49th
A charming romantic fantasy. I like the idea of the ghostly muse, inspiring a struggling artist from beyond the grave, and the photography is quite beautiful at times.
Rated 09 Jul 2014
14
12th
Sorry guys, but i don't really see what the big deal about this one is. I mean sure it looks nice and all, but goddamn the story is hokey, and not just in a "corny romantic" way which can be fine but also a hokey as in Twilight Zone way. It probably seemed less so when it was originally released, before the "she's been dead for ten years!" trope was so thoroughly played out and parodied, but still...
Rated 23 Dec 2012
2
22nd
Thing about films that rely on two characters falling passionately in love, you've really got to feel it, or else the whole thing falls to pieces? What did Eben see in Jennie? She was... innocent, maybe? What did Jennie see in Eben? He was.... there.
Rated 27 Mar 2012
80
82nd
watched: 2012, 2018, 2024
Rated 21 Mar 2012
75
54th
A well-made, haunting romance that does drag at times, despite its short runtime.
Rated 17 Jan 2012
81
64th
Beautiful dreamlike imagery and compelling mysterious romance. The leads do a wonderful job but the star is undoubtedly the cinematography. At times it feels a little heavy handed, something not helped by the opening narration, but ultimately it didn't hamper my enjoyment.
Rated 02 Dec 2011
56
12th
#886
Rated 23 Oct 2011
40
97th
"William Dieterle's 1948 masterpiece Portrait of Jennie is not only an unabashedly romantic melodrama but also a fascinating ghost story." - Ed Gonzalez
Rated 21 Nov 2010
3
32nd
So odd.
Rated 18 Mar 2010
60
39th
Intensely romantic, every exterior scene has this dreamy, undetermined character (the distinct texture in some of the images makes them look like paintings/embroidery). And it gets quite fucking astonishing at the end; a lighthouse, a storm, depicted as a grandiose dream, Cotton, waves and a threatening sky, his love, maybe a dream, a ghost or what the fuck, a place out there.. An amazing sequence. But I'm bothered by the haughty music going throughout the film, I must say.
Rated 11 Mar 2010
76
86th
A film about the artist's muse as a ghost, an intermittent siren whose visits become all-consuming, and eventually, an obsession. It's only after the artist has finished his first truly inspired & personal work that he no longer needs the muse as a crutch, for he has absorbed her.
Rated 15 Jan 2010
59
18th
825
Rated 10 Dec 2009
5
96th
A haunting romance. Quite possibly the best in this fantasy romance subgenre, next to "Somewhere In Time" and "Brigadoon"
Rated 19 Dec 2008
58
16th
835
Rated 02 Mar 2008
52
23rd
# 963

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