The Woman on the Beach

A movie about a man coming to regret the fact that he got to be with Joan Bennett. I...I'm having disconnect. Good God, man.

All rather pretentious and overblown. And Ryan seems a bit out of place in an uncharacteristically sympathetic role (and btw what's Jean Renoir doing, doing noir?). At any rate, Joan Bennett once again demonstrates her physical resemblance to Hedy Lamarr.

Pretty good film that portrays the shattering of conventionality in post-war America. The men are sick, while the women care for them. One female character regularly wears trousers and works with wood, while the other seems more conventional on the outside (cooking, feminine clothing) even as she thwarts convention with her sexual desire. I'm not sure the film entirely works--it feels like some has been left on the cutting room floor--but it's never uninteresting.

So somewhere in this convoluted plot, Robert Ryan dumps Betty for a grumpy Veronica while he's trying to figure out if a blind guy can see. The problem with this film is that so few of the tantalizing plot threads are really fleshed out. The dream sequence was fairly good, and Bickford has the meatiest role. Perhaps this psychological noir was just too ahead of its time.

Jean Renoir experienced a lot of the bad side of studio control with The Woman on the Beach resulting in this being very compromised, and his last Hollywood movie. You can see definite vision here. The drama and shorts were intense and strong, but the story doesn't pan out as strong with a lot probable scrapped by the studio heads. But based on what is here, I would almost recommend it anyway. Just try and focus on whats here, and not get frustrated on what it could have been.

Comparable to films like Moonrise in its ability to create a strong enigmatic noirish mood that is highly suggestive with psychological overtones.The effect is unsustained, and studio interference is largely to blame: Renoir was forced to cut out large sections of it after a disastrous preview. Consequently, its short length works against it, giving the obvious impression that it was hacked in post to the point of near incoherence. What's here is good, but it's frustratingly incomplete. A shame.

Wonderful cinematography and exploration into the minds of some very unhealthy relationships. Psychological noir at its best. The downside is that The Woman on the Beach never comes into focus. Due to its short nature and troubled production, it only hints at something great. For fans of noir films, this is a must-watch.

Viewed February 16, 2017.

A little too short and underdeveloped, but it's still a haunting and intense film. Bickford and Bennett in particular give excellent performances and there is some very striking imagery whose haziness matches the inner demons of Ryan's character. Very well executed, if slightly unsatisfying resolution too, which is representative of the whole film. It's very good but needs a little more of all those good pieces to be great.

The film has a lot of psychological angles and is anchored by three strong characters with fine performances by Ryan, Bennett and Bickford. However, the story just never takes off and seems to float around without a destination. The emotions bubbling under the surface rarely materialize into compelling plot material and I was fighting boredom a lot of the time. I also found the cinematography uninspired (except for Ryan's surreal nightmare) and the score far too oppressive.