![]() The moment Brian lays eyes on Paula he’s fascinated by her, but she doesn’t even notice him. Whenever Gregory takes Paula out, he tricks her into thinking that she’s lost something valuable of his, tormenting her and souring every pleasurable outing. It is during one of these torturous outings – this one to the Tower of London – that we are first introduced to Inspector Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten). He doesn’t allow Paula to see Miss Bessie, who is the only woman with the insight to see that something isn’t right with their marriage. He also flirts with Nancy, pitting her against Paula, and giving her incentive to be cold to her mistress. He instructs to house staff, specifically Nancy (Angela Lansbury) to report to him and never “disturb” Paula. ![]() We mainly stay with Paula, observing the many ways Gregory isolates her. Once Paula and Gregory are married, the outside world is barely shown. Time alone would only allow her to see clearly, and Gregory is counting on Paula having a clouded mind. He frames it as a romantic gesture, but the truth is he didn’t want to risk giving her a moment of space to change her mind. But the moment the train arrives at its destination, Gregory appears. When they meet, Paula is trying to take a trip alone to clear her head she wants to figure out if she really wants to marry Gregory. The only person who seems to have honest concern for Paula – at first – is Miss Bessie (Dame May Whitty), an older woman her meets on a train who later becomes her neighbor. When she feels the walls closing in on her, we feel them too. She’s almost animated- all eyes, face and fluid movement. But as Gregory manipulates Paula, Bergman manipulates the viewer, entrancing us with her magnetic performance. A later scene at a concert where Gregory makes Paula believe he stole her watch – leading her to wail openly in public – is especially difficult to watch. This plot could have easily made it a torturous viewing experience, and there are definitely points where it toes the line between fascinating and pure misery. Throughout the film, we have to watch Gregory manipulate Paula into madness. Charles Boyer plays Gregory like a father figure than a lover, but Paula is too young and inexperienced to know the difference. ![]() Gregory finds her first, and takes full advantage of her loneliness and trustworthy nature. Traumatized by her aunt’s unsolved murder, what Paula really needs is a therapist and a good friend. His charismatic and romantic presence becoming the only light in her life and she allows herself to be consumed by it.Īt first, Bergman plays Paula like a lost girl, highly impressionable and prone to long bouts of melancholy. Restless and frustrated with where her life is going, an older man is a welcome escape. Instead of forging her own path and trying to truly find herself, she has been trying to emulate her aunt with a middling singing career. She’s been alone since the death of her aunt at the beginning the film, and has no parental figure to guide her. A young woman has fallen in love with an older man and he wants to marry her after only two weeks. Ingrid Bergman is key to that.īy the 20-minute mark of Gaslight, the plot becomes obvious. The film took me on an emotional rollercoaster, unlike any thriller I had seen before. Instead I focused all my note taking on how every individual scene made me feel. I didn’t write down basic information like names and locations. ![]() When I did, a flow of observations descended from my fingertips. I was forced to pause the film entirely to take notes. At times when I wanted to look down and jot a note, I found that Bergman’s gaze wouldn’t let me. You can’t simply watch Gaslight, it controls your viewing experience entirely. Throughout the film, she has complete control of your eyes. In 1944’s Gaslight, Ingrid Bergman fills the screen entirely.
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