If Bergman’s not with someone else or being terrified while alone, she doesn’t have any scenes. Gaslight accounts for Bergman’s isolation as a factor, but has a hard time showing it. Boyer’s cruel in his abuse, not charming. And Bergman gets some payoff too, which is a welcome change since most of the first hour and some of the second is just watching Boyer mentally abuse her. The first half is setup, the second half is payoff. The second hour, which has Bergman start further breaking down, Cotten finally figuring out what’s going on, then multiple showdowns, is phenomenal. Then, at about the hour mark (the film runs just under two hours), we finally see Boyer do something rather suspicious and almost obviously devious. Especially not Cotten, who’s still trying to figure out what’s going on with the pair. Nothing too uncommon for 1885 London, though it’s hard to say as he doesn’t let Bergman meet anyone. ![]() He’s just some guy who married a wealthier woman, took over her property, and treats her like garbage. He’s absurdly cruel and controlling, even though the film doesn’t actually reveal him doing anything criminal. Rather suspicious.įor about the next half hour, Boyer is just tormenting Bergman. Boyer and Bergman had just been to visit the crown jewels, where Boyer salivated at the sight of them. And finds out it was also a robbery the thief grabbed precious jewels. On one of the few occasions Boyer lets her out of the house, they happen to pass Cotten, who thinks he recognizes Bergman–for her aunt–and begins inquiring into the still unsolved murder. Seemingly to prove his point, she loses something that very day, a family heirloom he’s given her. He’s constantly chastising Bergman for losing things, even though she has no memory of it. Boyer’s just hired rude young maid Angela Lansbury, who he sort of flirts with, sort of doesn’t, but definitely implies interest. The action cuts ahead–using Whitty snooping on her new neighbors, without much success–and it’s a very different household. He snatches it away from her, explaining he’s upset at how upset the house is making her. But on their initial tour of the house, Bergman comes across a letter from an admirer to her aunt and it drives Boyer into a fit. Until this point–them arriving in London–Boyer’s been the perfect suitor, now husband. Even if she has nightmares about her time in the house. How coincidental she just happens to own some property there. ![]() So she does, meeting a British woman (Dame May Whitty) along the way turns out Whitty lives just across the street from Bergman’s childhood home, where she fled in the opening scene, following the murder of her aunt.īergman’s ready to go back to London, however, so long as Boyer’s with her. Only it’s not going so well and she’d much rather run off with her pianist, Charles Boyer. Ten years later, she’s training to be an opera singer. ![]() The film opens in a flashback–teenage girl Ingrid Bergman is being hurried out of London for the continent, presumably something to do with a strangler on the loose (a newspaper headline informs the viewer). And his likability is important, because (intentionally) there’s not much likable in Gaslight. It’s a wise choice not to give Cotten an accent–presumably he couldn’t do one–but it also means there’s always something a little off about him, which just furthers his likability. If Scotland Yard inspector Joseph Cotten isn’t an American in London, why doesn’t anyone notice his lack of accent. At the end of Gaslight, when all has seemingly been revealed, there’s only one question left.
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