Having just been released from prison, Eddie Taylor struggles to fit in on the outside world. He marries Joan, a secretary to the public defender, who believes Eddie to be a good-natured person whose had a series of bad breaks. With Eddie struggling to find a job, he finds himself framed for a murder rap, placing him back in prison where he awaits execution. Being innocent, and growing more desperate, Eddie attempts an escape which leaves a man murdered, condemning Eddie and his wife, Joan, to a life on the run from the law. Fritz Lang's You Only Live Once is a precursor to other love-on-the-run films such as Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands, and They Live By Night, with Lang creating a clear indictment of the law system as a whole. Much of the film takes place before the love-on-the-run ensues, focusing on the attempted rehabilitation of Eddie into society. The way he is treated for his past transgressions is disgraceful, with Eddie having little to no options outside of the life that put him into prison in the first place. Lang argues that it's the system that is broken, not the man, and I personally find it a little terrifying how true this notion still rings true today. Eddie and Joan are two characters in love, it's all they have, in a cold, judgmental world. Visually, You Only Live Once is classic Lang, with lots of impressionistic lighting and shadows that only make the film better. The prison escape sequence is engrossing, with Lang using a dense fog and dark shadows to visually represent Eddie departure to the point of no return. Featuring stellar performances from Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda, You Only Live Once is an underrated film in Fritz Lang's film canon which should not be missed.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|