Pale !!!

Rating: 4/10 (8 October 2005)

I rate "Citizen Kane" 4/10 and that too just for the ONLY 3 best things about this Movie - Cinematography, Acting & the suspense about 'Rosebud'.
After understanding "Citizen Kane"'s high acclaim & its status as one of the finest movie ever made, I was very curious to see this Film. I was definitely disappointed by far end. Indeed its boring especially in first half & has some very inconsistent characterization & scripting. Many things remain unexplained.
The Philosophical strength I feel could have been understood by very less number of people because of its inconsistent characterization & many loose ends.
Its a story about Charles Kane who becomes heir to huge wealth when he was a child. Kane when grows up, instead of investing in Gold Mines or getting professional consultancies for his investments, intends to run a Newspaper company & starts endowing his wealth in it. Here is where Kane is shown as a Non-greedy, humble & wise person who aims to reach his readers with the best & truthful News, which he & his team can. But at the same time we learn later, that he is self-centered some times. He spends his wealth in a monumental palace known as Xanadu & disregards the aspirations of his wife. At one point he is shown wise, ambitious & a person who plan things & achieves success. On other side we see that nothing works good for him as he keeps failing in later part of his life. Not because of just some ill-fate, but because of some motivation & intelligence aspects which he was capable to do at some points but never attempts to do. Its a major contradiction in his characterization.
We learn that Charles Kane was just a Tycoon because of his wealth which he inherited. Whereas he was absolutely incapable of monumenting or expanding his empire. His approach to get involve in politics was for betterment of people & not for any status benefits. Just when he met Susan Alexander (a small time singer), everything after that turns wrong. He marries her & things turn worst. He looses the election, incurs huge losses in Newspaper business & finally we see him settled down in his Xanadu living his last days. After Susan leaves him, Charles die with his last words "Rosebud".
One thing is sure, We are never allowed to get into the character of Kane. Whoever saw this movie, cannot tell what kind of person was Charles Kane. This I feel is a definite Script error for Characterisation. Orson Welles instead spent much of his ideas & efforts in Art Direction & Cinematography. But that does not solve purpose. We are talking about movies, which means entertainment. Where is the Substance? Where is the intensity & drama & understanding of the characters ? We know that he runs a Newspaper Company. The Scenes concerning only shows how Kane counts his number of readers & how he throws party. What about his involvement & personal approaches which boosted his business ? What Speciality does Kane have ?? There is no answer to this. No Salient Features about Newspaper Company is shown !! The First half is boring, but the second half gains some intensity. We slightly get gripped with it. The second half, when Kane's bad fate begins to overcome his life. Kane tries high to captivate success for his new love. He builds Opera for her but she was not skilled enough to hold the audience's applaud. She fails. But that failure was of Kane. His decisions never fruitified. He keeps failing. Things go wrong & one his best friend who worked for the Newspaper, too leaves him.
But characterization.... still a problem. While watching the movie we get discomfort that Hey Man ... somewhere something is lacking !!! The Story just donot land up in right corner. There is no emotional bond created with the audience. We do not feel any relishment while watching the friendships & love relationships which Kane tries to maintain with various other characters. Although Charles Kanes emotions are tried to be reflected but we feel that it must've became a struggle for Orson Welles.
I cannot land up in a right corner about this Movie. Of course it is Overrated, but narrating some good points & bad points are necessary.
Plus Points : 1. Cinematography : In word is Excellent. 2. Kane's Psychological behavior : His Ego during break off with his Friend Leland / His belief & Self-Satisfaction for his Performing Wife, Susan. 3. Acting : I feel Orson Welles' Act as Citizen Kane is one of the finest amongst any classic movies.
4. The Suspense about Rosebud : It absolutely justifies the Psychological realization of the dying Charles Kane.
5. An innovative Non-Linear Story telling which probably was influential attribute during those days.
6. And the Best Scene of the Movie : The Night of the Opera - No words to describe it.
Bad Points : 1. Inconsistent Characterisation of Charles Kane 2. Weak briefing about the Working Pattern / Sources of Revenue & Team Work of the Newspaper Company 3. Boring first half 4. Very Bad Performance by Dorothy as Susan Kane 4. Xanadu scenes which were over directed & the reasoning of Charles Kane's decision to live in Xanadu which was not shown 5. Some pathetic scenes like Jigsaw Puzzle 6. Lengthy 7. Poor dialogs etc. etc. & many other bad points.
Finally, Citizen Kane MAY BE a story about a Person who is like any common man. His incapability for being a Tycoon & governing Monetary interests formed his down-to-earth personality which also becomes the reason for his failure like how Orson Welles failed in this over - directed project now an overrated classic !