In a Lonely Place (1950)

 Nicholas Ray's "In a Lonely Place"

Nicholas Ray's 1950 film "In a Lonely Place" is considered by many film historians to be one of the greatest film noirs of all time. After watching it, I found many aspects of the film to be incredibly interesting, particularly the bleak nature of hopelessness for the characters and their own muddled morality and behavior. However, I walked away from the film feeling a little cold. I found the characters to be unlikeable, the story story-less, and the theme to be empty of any substance. However, these seem to be the point of the whole film.

The film stars Humphrey Bogart as a Hollywood screenwriter named Dixon Steele. He is an aggressive and oft violent man and former World War II commanding officer who takes a young barmaid home one night in the hopes of sleeping with her. The attempt fails and she leaves his house, only to be murdered later that night. The police list Steele as the prime suspect, however Steele's neighbor, Sylvia, acts as his witness, as she saw the girl leave his apartment alone that night. Steele and Sylvia become romantically entangled while the police still suspect Steele. Sylvia then begins to have doubts about Steele, as he continues in his aggressive and erratic behavior. She begins to believe that he may have actually killed that girl and she prepares to leave. Upon learning this, he becomes violently enraged and starts to frantically and violently keep her from leaving. After learning the police have identified the true killer all along, the two realize their relationship can't continue.

I seem to have a love/hate relationship with this film. On one hand, I don't like it as much as other film noirs I've seen. I did not find the film very engaging and the story uninteresting. I didn't connect to any of the characters and found the Bogart protagonist to be incredibly unlikeable. However, I feel as though he is meant to be unlikeable, obviously. These are all reasons why the story works. Our protagonist deserves no sympathy, even though he isn't the real killer. Despite this, you spend the entire film wavering between whether you believe he is or isn't. It gets to be pretty tricky because he is so aggressive and violent. Even if he isn't the killer, he may as well be. 

Because of this, the film offers a bleak outlook. There is no hope in the relationship between Steele and Sylvia. There is no hope in Steele overcoming his aggression and violence. The characters are trapped by their forms of self-sabotage and it was there all along. The murder only made us evaluate Steele through the lens of being a protentional murder and in doing so, became convinced that he might actually be one. 

This is perhaps a emotional lens through which to view the state of America in the post-war environment, including the environment of Hollywood that the film takes place in. Steele in a WWII veteran, struggling with alcoholism and belligerence. He feels down-on-his-luck and is stewing in his own lack of progress. The post-war landscape of American life seems to emulate this mood. It also demonstrates the pitfalls and mores of Hollywood and celebrity, as it creates a attitude not compatible with the typical human experience. 

That being said, the film's central romance adds a momentary respite for these horrible and restless feelings the characters are stuck in. Because of this, the entire film is driven by emotion, rather than the need to satiate a plot, which I admire. Steele hopes he can escape his bubbling rage and apathy through Sylvia. He does briefly. He feels true love and hope. It makes it all the more bleak when he realizes that he can never actually attain that peace at the end of the film.

Overall, I did enjoy this film and look back on it admirably. I do prefer plenty of other noirs to this one, but I do understand why it is considered one of the greats. Its miserably bleak outlook, its unyielding gaze at a despicable and unlikeable protagonist, and its commentary on post-war American trauma all make it an engaging and enjoyable watch.