Indiscreet - A Human Shadow
Quick Thoughts: Indiscreet (1958)
An ageing actress falls into secretive love.
As much as Indiscreet plays with desire, holds before us a relationship we know is to be, it is a somewhat uncanny picture for its highly human presentation of Ingrid Bergman. Whilst playing a game of romance, injecting deception into love as to catalyse the rough coming of the true faces of true lovers, Indiscreet does not idolise its female lead as we may expect. There is a somewhat rough texture in the Technicolor frames of the film, a high contrast, somewhat harsh skin of light over each and every shot. This pierces through soft, expressionist, melodramatic lighting common to 40s cinema. Such can be exemplified with this publicity photo for Indiscreet:
This image captures a vision of Bergman put to screen in the likes of Casablanca, Gaslight, Notorious and Spellbound.
However, it does not accurately represent the aesthetic of the film:
Fascinating this is as not only are we seeing a somewhat different character played by Ingrid Bergman in this film in comparison to most before, but we are also seeing a very different Ingrid Bergman put to screen. Indiscreet would be Bergman's second film to mark her return from Italy, where she made films such as Stromboli and Journey to Italy with Rossellini - whom she had a scandalous affair with, starting in the late 40s.
Bergman's presentation in cinema has always been far more stripped back and reserved, one could argue, than what was the norm. Her movement into Hollywood with Intermezzo marked the establishment of an atypical star, apparently too tall, with eyebrows too thick and without enough make-up. Such is accentuated greatly by Indiscreet. In this film, not only is Bergman playing a far more human character than the near-angels she had portrayed before, but one can seemingly see her true face, masked not by make-up or dreamy lighting. This seems to me to be a rather strong statement one would think could only be made in a contemporary cinematic setting - say, for example, in a film by Nancy Meyers.
Bergman in Indiscreet plays a 40+ year old actress; she looks like one, acts like one, and to a rather specific degree is one. That is to say that Bergman plays Bergman if in a Hollywood movie in Indiscreet. Such adds a fascinating layer to what is a rather lighthearted, somewhat inconsequential narrative. One could go a step further and even see Indiscreet, not Anastasia, to be Bergman's true return from a quasi exile, one that projects, not the finding of a lost princess, but a rediscovery of a celebrity with a human shadow. It is keeping this in mind that I leave you with the following: what do you think of Indiscreet?
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End Of The Week Shorts #88
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End Of The Week Shorts #89
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
An ageing actress falls into secretive love.
As much as Indiscreet plays with desire, holds before us a relationship we know is to be, it is a somewhat uncanny picture for its highly human presentation of Ingrid Bergman. Whilst playing a game of romance, injecting deception into love as to catalyse the rough coming of the true faces of true lovers, Indiscreet does not idolise its female lead as we may expect. There is a somewhat rough texture in the Technicolor frames of the film, a high contrast, somewhat harsh skin of light over each and every shot. This pierces through soft, expressionist, melodramatic lighting common to 40s cinema. Such can be exemplified with this publicity photo for Indiscreet:
This image captures a vision of Bergman put to screen in the likes of Casablanca, Gaslight, Notorious and Spellbound.
However, it does not accurately represent the aesthetic of the film:
Fascinating this is as not only are we seeing a somewhat different character played by Ingrid Bergman in this film in comparison to most before, but we are also seeing a very different Ingrid Bergman put to screen. Indiscreet would be Bergman's second film to mark her return from Italy, where she made films such as Stromboli and Journey to Italy with Rossellini - whom she had a scandalous affair with, starting in the late 40s.
Bergman's presentation in cinema has always been far more stripped back and reserved, one could argue, than what was the norm. Her movement into Hollywood with Intermezzo marked the establishment of an atypical star, apparently too tall, with eyebrows too thick and without enough make-up. Such is accentuated greatly by Indiscreet. In this film, not only is Bergman playing a far more human character than the near-angels she had portrayed before, but one can seemingly see her true face, masked not by make-up or dreamy lighting. This seems to me to be a rather strong statement one would think could only be made in a contemporary cinematic setting - say, for example, in a film by Nancy Meyers.
Bergman in Indiscreet plays a 40+ year old actress; she looks like one, acts like one, and to a rather specific degree is one. That is to say that Bergman plays Bergman if in a Hollywood movie in Indiscreet. Such adds a fascinating layer to what is a rather lighthearted, somewhat inconsequential narrative. One could go a step further and even see Indiscreet, not Anastasia, to be Bergman's true return from a quasi exile, one that projects, not the finding of a lost princess, but a rediscovery of a celebrity with a human shadow. It is keeping this in mind that I leave you with the following: what do you think of Indiscreet?
Previous post:
End Of The Week Shorts #88
Next post:
End Of The Week Shorts #89
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
