Whirlpool (1949)

Too unbelievable for me to enjoy completely, 20 February 2006

I didn't think it was possible for Otto Preminger and Gene Tierney to make something this un-extraordinary. Preminger does a decent job with the direction, the acting (other than Richard Conte who comes across as a stiff) is fine, and the movie looks good. So what went wrong? The plot has so many points that stretch believability to the limit that I couldn't ever "get into" Whirlpool. There's too much of that psycho-mumbo-jumbo that really annoys me. What I know about hypnosis wouldn't fill a thimble, but I simply refuse to believe it's possible to use in the manner presented in this film. Without a strong grounding in reality as I understand it, an otherwise normal film about a murder isn't believable. I would love to go into more detail, but I don't want to ruin the film for those who haven't seen it. Just trust me when I say that what Jose Ferrar's character is capable of is as far-fetched as any fantasy film I've seen.

5/10