Quite Excellent

Rating: 7/10 (13 December 2009)

By the time I finally got around to watching Casablanca, only a few days before watching it again in one of my classes, I had already known so much about the movie, hearing it quoted millions of times, knowing the whole plot, and even what happens in the end, that I didn't even want to watch it anymore. But when it was on TV, I felt compelled to, and even though I was watching it a few days later, I am definitely glad that I did. The story is absolutely timeless, and it is something that could even happen nowadays. Bogart's Rick is still in love with Bergman's married Ilsa, who has come to Casablanca with her husband (Laszlo) so they they can escape to America, and away from the Nazi's who are after Laszlo. Throughout this time, Rick is torn between whether or not to help them escape, while wanting Ilsa all to himself. Bergman and Bogart both display such amazing acting skills, making the viewer really feel that they are in love. You can see Ilsa being torn between Laszlo and Rick and not knowing what to do as much as Rick doesn't know what to do. Aside from the story, the setting is really quite beautiful as well. The town of Casablanca, was just a really nice place to set the movie, and whenever anyone hears the name of the town, all people seem to think about is love.