Wordy, wordy, wordy! A feast of words, where every one of
them is hearty and satisfying. There are no fillers here. Because I'm watching
this alone, I indulge in going back to the buffet time and time again. As each
scene ends, I start it over with plate in hand.
Who knew what first? What clue
divulged new information? Where did the double cross or triple cross begin in
the discussion? How does Sam Spade stay ahead of everyone, when he has so
little to go on? Why is he so doggone smarter than I am? So many scenes have
their own Freytag pyramid in them--a little exposition, rising action, inciting
moment (and sometimes more than one!), climax and then the fall. This is a film
to study, for it panders to no one and demands a viewer to be on his toes.
Besides structure, something else worth studying is the
complexities and dualities of the characters and I give equal credit to the
writing and to the acting. I cannot, for the life of me, know for sure where
people stand and part of that is, at times, neither do they. Now that's
satisfying.
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