As I predicted, these reviews have immediately become harder to complete with a new baby at home!!! ššš“ This review was an additional challenge becauseāand I know the film is dear to a lot of people, so I want to tread lightly, butāI just didnāt click with this flick.
"Casablanca" is the classic-Hollywood story about Rick Blaine, an ex-pat club owner who set up shop in Casablanca, Morocco. The Casablanca in the film is full of French refugees fleeing Nazi domination but Rick is somewhat indifferent to their plight, preferring the economic security of neutrality. Itās in that moment that his ex-love Ilsa came walking through his door. Ilsa pleads for Rickās help saving her husband Victor, a resistance leader, but Rickās heartbreak and preference towards safe-gambles keeps him distant. Itās in this way that the film works on two levels: At a macro level, the film is about keeping resistance alive when backed into a corner. At the micro level, the film is about a once heartbroken man who, when faced by his former lover, is required to work up the courage to care about something again.
Now, thereās plenty that I like about this film. I think the subject matter (refugee crisis and an indifferent America) is incredibly relevant in todayās news cycle. I also liked how the film used personal relationships to tell a larger story about World War II. In a sense the war plays out, not militarily, but through the choices of each individual character. Rick quite literally represents pre-War America: a man out to make a buck from anyone who will give it without declaring a side in the escalating conflict. His balancing-act of a characterās journey (indeed, the balancing act the film plays as a whole) was an impressive literary feat.
However, for all of the filmās cleverness, classic lines, and famous theme song (now the Warner Bro.'s TV tag-theme!) the film wasnāt exactly my type. As I felt with āA Streetcar Named Desireā, adapting stage plays into movies can feel a bit 'flat' to me and the melodramatic acting just contributed to the feeling that I was watching a play. The story felt too convenient, coincidental, and the characters simply didnāt feel real to me. Maybe it's because I once broke down on the Great Movie Ride during the "Casablanca scene" and I'm harboring bad feelings...I donāt know, but I'll have to give this another shot one day!