The Breaking Point

"A man alone ain't got a chance." Curtiz and MacDougall turn Hemingway's weird sprawl into a great little noir drama about the people who never make it through hard work. Garfield is the perfect Harry Morgan for this movie; more likable than the novel, but still carrying all the disillusionment and resentment, and the rest of the cast (Phyllis Thaxter!) match both his tired energy and flesh out the world. The tension builds until it has to break. And that final shot. Holy shit.

Garfield's great as the antihero who makes a deal with the devil. And then another one. And another. The final shot is devastating.

Great dark shots that portray how hemmed in Harry Morgan is. We can understand how a good man might break the way he does. And he *is* a good man -- he manages to resist Patricia Neal who is charming as heck; there's no way I could turn her down. The final shot of the little boy is amazing: its emotional power lies in reminding you of what everyone else has already forgotten.

A movie so good that I had mistakenly thought Burt Lancaster was in it.

The Breaking Point (1950) is said to be a more elaborate version of To Have and Have Not (1944) as far as the the story goes, but I still prefer the '44 film because... it's Bogart & Bacall. That's not a knock on John Garfield or Patricia Neal, who are both terrific in this '50 adaptation, but it's not like you can compete with one of the most iconic romances in screen history and the impact it had. This is still a great film regardless of the competition of Ernest Hemingway's material.

Extra points on this one for a very different setting. It was an unpredictable crime drama as well.

Strong noir film where the femme fatale is almost an afterthought. There are a lot of bad decisions heaped on bad decisions, but the stubborn captain keeps plunging headlong. The first half of the movie went pretty slow to set up the foundation, but the last twenty minutes led to an outstanding (if mostly Hollywood-esque) ending. This version has the better story and characters, but To Have and Have Not had Bogey and Bacall, so it's a close call which is "better."

The writing and Garfield's execution of his character are what really make the film. For all the bad decisions he makes he also makes quite a few good ones, so things don't feel as forced or doomed as they otherwise might, and Garfield helps sell the conflicted nature of the character and the desperation that leads to the decisions. He's extremely sympathetic without being the least bit pitiable.

Garfield's portrayal of Harry Morgan, a man forced into the seedy underworld out of financial hardship is fantastic. Despite being a broken man burdened by his poor decisions, Morgan remains tough as nails right to the very end. Even more interesting than Garfield's role here are the racial undertones at work in the camaraderie of Morgan and his friend Wesley. The final shot is heartbreaking. Shame the idiotic political witchhunts of its era meant this film never got the due it deserved.

Curtiz makes the impact of the violence deeply felt. The final image is strikingly somber and haunting. Garfield is wonderful in the lead, with great supporting performances. The female characters are also handled very well, treated with complexity. Curtiz makes excellent use of dramatic angles and overhead lighting, and although the action scenes are sparse, they're loaded with tension. The film's biggest problem is a sluggish middle section, but otherwise it's a winner.

No easy ending here...Curtiz leads us into the vice grip that surrounds poor people trying to scrape by. One bad decision leads to catastrophic consequences. Dominos fall that compound the problems. It was interesting to see the way Harry's resolve against Leona weakens as his situation worsens, a true reflection of the way life's pressures in one area increase them in others. The final shot is rightly lauded, Curtiz reminding us that the consequences of Harry's actions extend beyond himself.

Redenção Sangrenta estreava há 70 anos nos EUA. Meu segundo filme gris protagonizado pelo Garfield essa semana e é uma pedrada daquelas, soa tão resplandecente dentro do macarthismo com o último plano de cortar o coração com o menino esperançoso dentro do genocídio negro ocorrendo e nenhum branco se importando porque todos os brancos estavam mais preocupados com a inevitável amputação do "left arm" para se sobreviver. Porra, que pedrada. Box Versátil Filme Noir Volume 4.

There are some moments that really make this film. Especially the last sequence with a final shot that leaves you heartbroken, but overall it was kinda, ehhh. Decent story, decent plot.

87.50