Perfect Understanding (1933-01-15)
Romance | Comedia | Drama |
Overview
Directed By: Cyril Gardner
Star Cast: Gloria Swanson , Laurence Olivier , John Halliday , Nigel Playfair ,
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I can't help thinking that Cyril Gardner may have done better with this had it been a silent film. There are some stunning photographic scenes and at times, it verges on the travelogue as Gloria Swanson ("Judy") and a very dashing Laurence Olivier ("Nick") meet, fall in love and engage in an early thirties version of a "open marriage". They travel the length and breadth of Europe before he ends up in Cannes visiting a friend whilst she decants home to prepare their flat in London. In Cannes, "Nick" gets a bit sozzled and hooks up with old flame Nora Swinburne ("Lady Fitzmaurice") after getting injured in a high speed (and quite entertaining) power boat race... Riddled with guilt, he goes home and tells his wife. Ostensibly she forgives him, but does she? Does she, really - or is the green eyed monster about to rear it's ugly head? It's got it's fair share of schemers and plenty of rather childish tit-for-tat antics to keep the plot moving - sometimes quite amusingly, and there is definitely a chemistry between the two stars, but the dialogue just clutters things up and the whole thing is just a bit lightweight. Nothing wrong in that, I suppose, but I really wanted more from this pairing...