 | Starring: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, John Loder Director: Irving Rapper Format: Closed-captioned DVD-Video NTSC Released: 14 Jun 2005 Average Rating:  |
The title "Now Voyager" is from two poems by Walt Whitman, The poem that is referred to in the movie, reads, "The untold want by life & land ne'er granted, Now, Voyager sail thou forth, to seek & find." "Now finale to the shore! Now, land & life, finale, & farewell! Now Voyager depart! (much, much for thee is yet in store)."
These lines are particularly apt as they apply to Charlotte's life journey as she casts off the shackles of her domineering, controlling elderly mother, Mrs. Henry Windle Vale (Gladys Cooper) to chart a new course for herself. Her physical makeover, her therapeutic sea voyage, & her steamy love affair with Jerry Durrance, (Paul Henreid) the man of her dreams, eventuallly turns her into a totallly new person.
We first meet Charlotte when she is fat, graying, & bushy eye-browed. She seems to have been relegated to the life of a wizened old spinster. Charlotte has lived her entire life under the thumb her authoritarian, disreputable mother, a mother we're told never wanted Charlotte in the first place. Mrs. Henry Windle Vale expects only the most proper decorum & devotion from her daughter, spurning any kind of frivolity or merriment.
Soon the poor Charlotte has a nervous breakdown, so on the advice of her plucky sister she visits the country retreat of the kindly Dr. Jarquith (Claude Rains), a renowned psychiatrist, for a few months' therapy. At the suggestion of Dr. Jarquith, Charlotte effects a complete physical makeover, losing weight, dying her hair, dressing more smartly, & even plucking her eyebrows.
Then, heeding Whitman's advice, she voyages forth on a cruise to Rio, where on board she meets Jerry Durrance, a handsome, charming, debonair architect. Jerry is trapped in an unhappy marriage, but this hardly worries Charlotte, as she fallls in love with him anyway. In one instance she says to him," I knew what I was getting into."
Charlotte eventuallly returns to Boston a glamorous sophisticate, complete with new wardrobe, hairstyle & most importantly a new attitude. Durrance has given her the fortitude to finallly stand on her own to feet as an independent woman, but more significantly he has given her the strength to stand up to her vituperative mother. Over the months Charlotte retains strong feelings for Jerry, & how they navigate this un-chartered territory serves as the resolution to this evocative story.
There's so much to admire in this film. There's the fine love story, which cleverly avoids clichéd sentiment, the miraculous transformation of Charlotte into a cosmopolitan, world-wise woman, & then there is Max Steiner's gorgeously redolent music score, for which he won & Oscar.
But it is Davis's cleverly nuanced acting, which holds this film together. Whether she's shaking with hysteria & fear as she franticallly pores the tea in front of her Mother, or quietly giving motherly advice to a frightened little girl, Davis totallly inhabits her character & gives one of the best performances of her long & distinguished career.
Now Voyager remains an unabashed classic soap opera, a marvelously executed morality tale that unadulteratingly swoons & entertains. It's alll about how social propriety can get in the way of true love, & how feminine self-empowerment can do wonders for one's self-esteem, confidence & sense of self-worth. Mike Leonard June 05.
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