Hey, remember this project?
I didn’t forget about it. Let’s see, how can I phrase this…I like the way my friend Amy put it: the “crazy year winds down (really ramps up until it crashes into the wall and we are left to recover). “
I’m close to recovering.
Anyway. I admit I delayed watching “Gaslight” because I knew what it was about, and I knew I had to be in a certain frame of mind to watch it. Today I just ripped off that Band-Aid, and, well, here’s some thoughts.
Plot: We first see Paula dressed in mourner’s clothes, being shuttled off to a different country after her aunt’s murder. Then we see her years later, an aspiring (but failing) singer in love with her accompanist. The accompanist, Gregory, convinces her to marry him and have the two of them move back into her aunt’s house. He then systematically convinces her she is losing her sanity, for reasons I do not want to spoil because YOU SHOULD SEE THIS MOVIE.
Best Moment: When the tables turn and Paula uses his tactics against him to make a point.
Worst Moment: Anytime Gregory speaks to Paula after moving into her aunt’s house. Though probably the worst-worst moment is when he manipulates her right into a mental collapse at a concert.
Fun Facts: As I watched this, I wondered if my ex had seen this movie and taken notes, because he certainly deployed the same tactics to keep me in his life for as long as he did. I also wondered if I’d seen this movie before dating him, maybe I would’ve been inoculated against those tactics.
The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and Ingrid Bergman won for Best Actress–quite deserved. And wow, the talent she was up against that year: Bette Davis, Claudette Colbert, Greer Garson, and Barbara Stanwyck (for “Double Indemnity,” which is equally amazing). She also won the Golden Globe for Best Actress that year.
Recommendation: According to Wikipedia, “gaslighting” (which is more in today’s collective lexicon than it was 25 years ago), derives from this film and the 1938 play it was based on. For that reason alone, this is a must-see. Plus, Ingrid Bergman really slays this role.
