Review: Enchantment

Set over several decades the film tells the story of the inhabitants of a house in London through the years. Elderly military general Rollo (David Niven) recounts a story of lost love to his visiting relative (Evelyn Keyes). The film flashes back to when Rollo was a youngster and his father brings back a new ward named Lark (Gigi Perreau) after the little girl’s parents were killed in an accident. We eventually flash forward to their adulthood and with the father now dead, oldest sibling Jayne Meadows is now in charge of Lark (now played by Teresa Wright) and is as resentful of the latter as she was when they were kids. Farley Granger appears in the wraparound scenes as a love interest for Keyes who also has a connection to the family.

 

Is this 1948 Irving Reis (“All My Sons”) romantic weepie an all-time classic? No, for one thing it has trouble juggling all of its relationships in under two hours. I think the characters played by Farley Granger and Evelyn Keyes are far less interesting than those played by David Niven and Teresa Wright. Focus on the former means less time devoted to the latter, which is unfortunate. However the basic story elements are interesting and the stars are irresistible. If you’re of a sentimental disposition this one’s worth seeking out. I think it’s criminally underrated and underseen. Given that we’re talking about a romance that is narrated by the house (!) in which the majority of the story takes place, that’s a bit of a pill for viewers to swallow. It’s not going to be for everyone.

 

For me the cast really do a great job in selling this one, especially Niven, Wright, and Jayne Meadows perfectly essaying a hateful, miserable woman. Niven actually does a damn good job of hiding his natural voice when playing the elderly version of his character and the makeup job is quite convincing. He gives the usual charming David Niven turn for the mid-life scenes, but a remarkably different performance in old age. He does a great job in playing the same character at two different stages of life with two different dispositions. The passing of years will do that to a person sometimes. Wright, one of my all-time favourite actresses is a bonafide star here. She radiates warmth and goodness, instantly sympathetic and a terrific actress on top of it. You can’t take your eyes off her. The performances by the adolescent members of the cast are good too, with Gigi Perreau and Sherlee Collier (who sadly died at 35) particularly fine as the younger versions of Wright and Meadows. In fact, their section of the film is probably its strongest overall. The B&W cinematography by Gregg Toland also deserves a mention. He does a fine job here, though it’s a bit more subtle than his Deep Focus work on “Citizen Kane” and “The Best Years of Our Lives”. This was his last film, dying quite young in his 40s.

 

A somewhat unusual but effectively melancholic romance. Absolutely not for cynics, but a must for Teresa Wright fans. She’s in top form here. Based on a Rumer Godden (“Black Narcissus”) novel, the screenplay is by John Patrick (“The Strange Love of Martha Ivers”, “Love is a Many-Splendored Thing”).

 

Rating: B-

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