No one was ever able to perfect the art of melodrama quite as well as Douglas Sirk, a director whose career is almost entirely defined by the range of intimate, profoundly moving dramas that combined familial strife with socially-charged commentary, forming complex tapestries of the human condition that were rarely anything but thoroughly riveting and…
Author: The Postmodern Pelican
Niagara (1953)
Ray Cutler (Max Showalter) and Polly (Jean Peters) are on their way across the Canadian border to finally get around to a long-delayed honeymoon. He is a well-regarded marketing executive, and she is his willful wife who is happy to finally be spending some time with him. They have decided to have a few days…
Sapphire (1959)
“We didn’t solve anything – we just picked up the pieces” Perception is an important part of understanding a film, which has never been clearer than in those that blur the boundaries not only between genres, but between entire conceptual frameworks. Basil Dearden’s Sapphire is one that can be seen in two ways – the…
One Night in Miami (2020)
It’s not often that we find a film with as ambitious a premise as One Night in Miami succeeding in realizing its full potential. Inarguably, when it was first announced that Regina King (who is undeniably one of the finest actresses of her generation) would be making her feature directorial debut after years of working…
The Wayward Girl (1959)
There’s something so compelling about seeing someone’s debut, whether they’re behind the camera or appearing in front of it – and when that person is nothing short of an icon, there’s an added level of curiosity to the work that gave them the necessary leap into the industry. There are few performers more acclaimed or…
Pillow Talk (1959)
In the pantheon of great romantic comedies, very few films have defined the genre more than Michael Gordon’s Pillow Talk. Whether through filmmakers that were heavily inspired by it, or those that outright copied the film, it has held a cultural cache that has made it one of the most iconic entries into a genre…
Atlantic City (1980)
“It used to be beautiful – what with the rackets, whoring, guns” The mere mention of the name Atlantic City should evoke some kind of reaction in the listener – a town (or rather, gambling resort) known for its gambling, free-spirited activities and lack of morality, it has been the origin of many dreams being…
She Married Her Boss (1935)
Julia Scott (Claudette Colbert) lives a pleasant life – she works for a reputable clothing company, being an administrative assistant that has her sights firmly set on a leadership position, which is almost entirely guaranteed, considering she has a reputation amongst her co-workers and those they report into for being a hard-working young woman who…
Quo Vadis, Aida? (2020)
Based on the title, you’d think that Quo Vadis, Aida? would be a more eccentric film, since it combines both an outdated Latin expression with the evocation of Verdi’s opera centred on an Egyptian queen – there’s a hint of the antiquity embedded in this film. However, this was clearly a calculated move on the…
Getting Away with Murder (1996)
Ethics have always been the passion of Professor Jack Lambert (Dan Aykroyd), a mild-mannered college lecturer who has perfected the art of morality, teaching it to legions of students who he manages to captivate with his unique perspective on human behaviour. However, despite his immense moral grounding and understanding of how any individual should conduct…
The Postmodern Pelican 