Home Video Hovel: Of Human Bondage, by Scott Nye

humanbondagebluI’ve never read W. Somerset Maugham’s 1915 novel upon which this 1934 film was based. I know very little about it, and the extent to which this film is faithful is something I can only glean distantly, aware of the feeling that a great deal is passed over, constantly condensed and abridged. But no matter. The film gave me a glimpse into something unmistakably true and almost embarrassingly personal. If the mark of a good adaptation is that it translates the emotion of the source, this has to be considered a remarkable victory; it’s not that the cinema of 1934 was any less than the literature of the same period, but that this is marked by a definite vulnerability one almost never finds in pictures of any era. In a medium almost defined by beautiful vanity and glorious egos, a film with as damaged, as frayed an emotional core as this can only come about so many ways, and if this is but a small window into Maugham’s classic, what a towering inferno that must be.John Cromwell’s adaptation, with a screenplay by Lester Cohen, follows Philip Carey (Leslie Howard), a British art student living in Paris whose dreams are dashed by mediocrity. He returns to London for medical school, as was his determined lot in life, and on a random night out with a schoolmate, comes to meet the love of his next few years, even if she is unlikely to return the affection. Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis) is a vast departure from just about any girl he might meet in the upper crust of British society – direct to the point of vulgarity, reflexively sexy, and completely uninterested in what little appeal his status may lend him. She’s not a “nice girl,” which in turn also means she’s also an exciting one, and, perhaps more importantly, she represents the last hope of reclaiming a piece of the bohemian lifestyle he felt he was forced to leave behind.As the months and years go by, he will gradually give up everything for her – his status, his money, his more hopeful romantic pursuits, his very livelihood – just for a glimmer of hope that she will return even  a sliver of his affection. Unlike so many modern stories of the sensitive, shy, artistic type who meets a wild girl, she is completely uninterested in his modest charms, at best using him until she can find a more suitable companion, and his attraction towards her quickly suppresses romantic interest into the realm of obsession, even addiction. He can’t help himself, no matter how much misery she inflicts, and this acknowledgement that the wounded party does bear some responsibility to just move on is not only most welcome, but integral to the film’s deeply wounded center.The film’s main focus is certainly this twisted unrequited love story, but along the way it gets to so many other feelings that accompany it, from the brief flashes of happiness any other companionship can provide to the unique flavor of total alienation that accompanies living in a big city, but having absolutely nothing to do on a Saturday night, and recognizing the degree to which that’s partially your own doing. There’s a gorgeous tracking shot, following Philip as he returns to his apartment, passing a raucous party along the way that he only looks in on, nods to, before sitting alone at his desk, that pretty much says it all.With mainstream dramas of all sizes increasingly focused on making their lead characters as likable as possible, it’s great to go back to these classic melodramas, in which characters behave in terrible, self-destructive ways, dwelling on some aspect of life that may be depressing, but which is incredibly resonant. Long relegated to cut-rate public domain releases, Kino brings Of Human Bondage to glorious 1080p, and it looks marvelous. The film has not been restored, so damage does accompany the print, but for those of us who like seeing films on real prints, this is a wonderful replication. On the flip side, detail that is intended is just as crisp as the damage, with no sense of aggressive over-sharpening, nor any abandonment of that wonderful film grain. It’s not the best-quality print you’d hope to see, but the film looks damn good.There’s only one special feature, but it’s a doozy – an 87-minute documentary on Maugham’s life and career – and goes a long way towards making this a worthwhile purchase, though one should certainly check out this disc one way or another for the feature itself, if indeed you’ve not yet seen it.

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4 Responses

  1. Eugene Valla says:

    Good insightful review of a wonderful classic movie!

  2. Gabriel says:

    This is what a film review should be. An honest critique that equally balances personal opinion and objectivity without being mundane or passive. This was a very flavorful and evocative synopsis. Great job!

  3. Disinterested does not mean UNinterested.

    • Scott Nye says:

      Thanks for pointing this out. I often equate the two, and, though it seems they are technically interchangeable, they do carry different connotations. Thanks for reading!

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