Vidas Particulares

No need to recap the marital mix-up plot. I guess the intent was all very sophisticated, 1930's style. The way the movie's mounted, however, is plain annoying. Lines are shouted in rapid-fire succession as if someone's standing by with a timer. The trouble is we then have little chance to savor the reputed Noel Coward wit, however much there may be. Then there's the constant bickering that other reviewers note. That too gets tiresome, and since there's little chemistry between the two leads or motivation from the script, there's no underlying glue between them. To me the results are disjointed and theatrical in a negative sense. I expect the mountain climbing interlude was seen as a needed change from all the talk and drawing rooms. Ironically, it's probably the movie's best part. Also, it looks to me—as to others—that MGM wunderkind Thalberg indulged his ladylove by getting her the feminine lead. Too bad he didn't augment that with a more comedy-effective director. I don't know what audiences of the time thought, but now the results are about as subtle as a politician announcing his patriotism. I'm just glad both leads went on to better things, particularly Montgomery.