How Powell and Pressburger managed to become quite so commercially successful is something of a mystery to me, despite my belief that they are perhaps the finest creative team in cinema history. This is not quite the weirdest of the lot- A Canterbury Tale wears that crown- but it is a strange, perplexing film, rich in atmosphere and stunningly beautiful to look at, despite being filmed almost exclusively on the Pinewood backlot. Perhaps the greatest achievement here is making a film about nuns, in which nothing of great note really happens until the end, utterly riveting, and even terrifying: Black Narcissus feels almost like a horror film without the horror, an exploitation movie without the exploitation, brimming with all the seediness and gross, repressed sensuality that made Peeping Tom such a critical blow to Powell’s career. The difference is that here he keeps things in check, simmering just below the surface, equally disturbing but mercifully hidden.
by Tom Huddleston | Source: FlimFour
27 Nov 2007 11:35 AM | Submit Comment
