Robert Aldrich's Hush..Hush, Sweet Charlotte opens with an unusually long pre-credits sequence which establishes the tragic past of Charlotte, a Southern Belle, who witnessed the murder of her love, John Mayhem, and subsequent suicide of the her father, the man who Charlotte believes must have been responsible for the crime. Since the grisly murder, Charlotte has been shunned by the southern community, viewed as a looney old woman who is probably responsible for the death of her lover and father. Living a life of solitude in her decaying southern mansion, Charlotte finds her home come under fire, when the local government declares it be demolished to make way for a new highway. Desperate to preserve the only thing that ever meant anything to her, Charlotte summons her cousin Miriam, one of the only people she can trust, to help her fight the state over the destruction of the estate. Robert Aldrich's Hush..Hush, Sweet Charlotte is a highly stylized, atmospheric thriller that is brooding with atmosphere and intrigue. Aldrich was on the top of his game with Hush..Hush, Sweet Charlotte, a film that uses crisp black and white cinematography to create a tense, foreboding sense of intrigue around its characters, visually expressing the battle between darkness and light that is prevalent throughout this well-executed mystery thriller. While the film isn't winning any awards for its geniune portrayal of mental illness, Hush..Hush, Sweet Charlotte provides a highly enjoyable, schlocky performance by Davis, a character who is deeply haunted by the death of really the two men she loved. She is creepy and unpredictable, with the film effectively creating a sense of uncertaintly around Charlotte's damaged psyche, making one empathetic of Charlotte but also uncomfortable with her volatility. When it becomes clear that there is a link between Charlotte's increasingly horrific visions of suicide and death, and the arrival of her cousin, Miriam, Hush..Hush, Sweet Charlotte becomes a great little horror gem about the corruption of money and greed, with Miriam effectively attempting to drive the fragile Charlotte completely to madness in order to take over the estate. Featuring a great hysteria-fueled performance by Bette Davis, Robert Aldrich's Hush..Hush, Sweet Charlotte is a well-crafted Southern gothic thriller that keeps the viewer engaged from start to finish.
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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