Trouble in Paradise (1932)

 Ernst Lubitsch’s “Trouble in Paradise”

Thematic Elements: 

Trouble in Paradise is a movie in which a man must choose between Lily, his fellow jewel thief and lover who provides a trusting partner and a passion for life adventure, or Madame Colet, the rich widow who provides wealth and security. Gaston, our protagonist, is a renowned jewel thief who travels all over Europe attaching himself to affluent society so that he can take from right under their noses. Not only does Gaston rub shoulders with people of upper-class sensibilities, he himself has those same sensibilities. He speaks very gentlemanly, he wears the most fashionable clothing, his manners are impeccable, and he comes across as someone with great affluence and charm. His stealing merely provides for this lavish lifestyle he desires. The two women that come into his life can both provide this lifestyle and the love of someone who understands his sensibilities, but both separately represent two differing ways of giving him this lifestyle. Lily provides this to Gaston by aiding in his thieving, while assisting him in living life on the edge and having plenty of adventures, a life that Gaston feels very passionate about and is very good at. He finds joy in Lily because she is like him and both can speak the same language of being a thief on the run. The downside to this is that it can only last so long, the life of a thief can only be so successful until you are caught and put away for good. Madame Colet on the other hand can also provide this lavish lifestyle but can only grant this outside of his dangerous living style. She is able to provide him a working job as her secretary in which he keeps up with her personal affairs and her finances. This is able to provide him with plenty of comfort and security as well as a more openness about living with exquisite sensibilities. The downside is that he works tirelessly to maintain this security, spending hours and hours pouring over her finances and meeting with her board of directors. He is no longer living freely unbound by anything as he was with Lily. Still, he falls in love with Madame Colet as the two of them mirror each other in the way the view the niceties of life. His love for both women pulls him in different directions. Should he choose Lily, who gives him a joy of adventure at the cost of capture? Or should he choose Madame Colet, who give him lavishness and security, at the cost of living closed in? The decision ends up being made for him as he cannot escape being caught or recognized even behind the protection of Madame Colet. He goes back to Lily, who drive away together showing each other the things they had stolen, laughing, and on their way to their next destination and adventure. 

Camerawork: 

Lubitsch continues to use his ‘show, don’t tell’ method of storytelling in this film. He does this by using montages effectively to convey the passing of time or to give exposition about a character. An example of using montage to convey the passing of time plays in the scenes involving Madame Colet watching the orchestra play at the theater. After she sits in her seat, Lubitsch shows us a top view of the conductor’s music sheets as the sheets begin to fervently flip through the pages, only to bring us back to Madame Colet back in her seat. Rather than telling us that she has been watching and listening to the orchestra for a while now, he shows us through this montage the passing of time through the flipping of the music sheets. An example of how he uses montage to give exposition about a character can be found when Madame Colet is first introduced. Rather than telling us that she is the head of a perfume company and has many people under her, he shows us first a meeting of the board in which they look to her for direction, only to play a montage of maids, servants, doormen, and employees telling her ‘yes, ma’am” or “no, ma’am.” Lubitsch is showing us how wealthy and important she is in that everyone in her life looks to her as someone above them, always aware of her wealth, status, and power over them. 

Lubitsch directs his actors to perform with a certain sensible restraint. They perform their lines as if the characters themselves are in on the jokes, giving the dialogue a rich texture of both sly candor as well as discretion. Not only does this add to subtly to the insight in the characters’ thoughts and motivations, it lets the audience understand the contrast between what is being said and what is being meant, giving a rich humor to the insinuation of the characters. Trouble in Paradise is the first film to be branded as having ‘The Lubitsch Touch.’ The Lubitsch Touch has still not been truly defined, but Andrew Sarris has defined it as “a counterpoint of poignant sadness during a film's gayest moments.” Perhaps this is the Lubitsch Touch, perhaps it is the way his characters display a playful quirky duality of frankness and deceit. Either way, in this film the Lubitsch Touch can be felt. His characters have a royal, proper, or gentlemanly sensibility to them, all while maintaining a mix of absurdity and melancholy hidden in their way of speaking and behaving. This hidden sadness to all of the characters provides the audience with reasoning behind every motivation, as all of the characters are behaving the way they do because although they have wealth, richesses, and comfort, the one thing they truly feel a lack of is connection to their fellow humans. The characters in this story cannot help but try as they might to find actual connection to cover up the deep sadness and loneliness they feel. 

Best Shot: 

The best shot in the film is the shot in which Madame Colet is trying to seduce Gaston into staying with her for the night. Gaston is trying to leave to go back to the hotel with Lily so they can leave for good, but his attraction and lust for Madame Colet is keeping him there. The two begin their tantalizing seduction as the shot cuts to shadows of them against the bed. Lubitsch is showing the audience the mindset of the characters in that they both have lust and affection for the other – their inner selves are actually in bed with each other. This best utilizes Lubitsch’s show don’t tell method by presenting the audience with a visual illustration of what the characters are thinking, even as their words are only hinting at such.