"...In those days, they had time for everything. Time for sleigh rides, and balls, and assemblies, and cotillions, and open house on New Year's, and all-day picnics in the woods, and even that prettiest of all vanished customs: the serenade. Of a summer night, young men would bring an orchestra under a pretty girl's window, and flute, harp, fiddle, cello, cornet, bass viol, would presently release their melodies to the dulcet stars. Against so home-spun a background, the magnificence of the Ambersons was as conspicuous as a brass band at a funeral."
This is part of the opening narration by Orson Welles in his follow-up to Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons. It is with this that I immediately fell for this film and it's melancholy romanticism. It's an opening that Wes Anderson was heavily influenced by and his opening to The Royal Tenenbaums is undoubtedly proof of that. Orson Welles, while having a hard time maintaining his stamp on his own films, still does so with films that have come after him.
I should get to the background of the movie out of the way. The Magnificent Ambersons is a movie that had a very tumultuous post production. Orson Welles left to work on another movie in Brazil and while he did, the studio decided to re-cut it and re-shoot many of the scenes after test audiences called it too depressing. The movie's length was originally 131 minutes and what is left as it is now is 88 minutes. The finished product is only partially Orson Welles vision and work. Regardless of this, it's still considered by many one of the greatest American movies ever made and I'd be hard pressed to say they're wrong.
The movie begins in 1873 and stars Joseph Cotten, Tim Holt and Anne Baxter. The Ambersons are the richest people in town and are the picture of decadence and class. The young daughter Isabelle is being courted by Eugene(Cotten). In his attempt to serenade Isabelle, Eugene falls onto his instrument and ruins his chances with Isabelle as she ends up humiliated. She goes on to marry another man and they have a son named George(Holt). Georgie grows to be a spoiled man that can be described as an arrogant mama's boy who thinks the world owes him everything.
Soon Eugene comes back into the picture and through subtle gestures and words it is made obvious that there are still feelings there, that they've always been there with Eugene and Isabelle. Eugene arrives with his daughter Lucy(Anne Baxter) and George becomes possessive of her and jealous of the attention she gets from other men. Despite the fact that Lucy becomes a romance for George, he can't help but step on his own feet by being rude to his possible future father-in-law and/or stepfather Eugene.
It is within this narrative that we are introduced to such a great display of romantic longing between Eugene and Isabelle in their older age. They've lost time with one another and are still having a hard time being together. This along with the juxtaposition of the brashness and naivety of George brings a great comparison in the ages and their wisdom or lack thereof. George is so caught up with disliking Eugene that he has a hard time convincing Lucy of his love for her. Lucy isn't so excited that George has no career aspirations as he implies working is beneath him.
I have a hard time finding many faults with this movie. Despite the tacked on ending, it still worked for me in the context of the film. Despite many scenes not having Welles' directorial touch, they still are able to bring emotion and entertainment to the table. The performances are all great, especially that of Joseph Cotten with whom I've never been disappointed. Every aspect of the production no matter how troubled comes together to make a beautiful picture.
And with that, I hope you seek out and bask in the magnificence of the Ambersons.
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