Split Down the Middle

Rating: 7/10 (10 May 2010)

Citizen Kane is a curious study in American film. It's lauded as one of the greatest works of film, ever. Sometimes in the same breath, it's lambasted as a hackneyed story and a waste of a film reel. So what is the real Citizen Kane? Well, in a simple breath, this movie is meant more to be studied than it is to be enjoyed. The film itself is somewhat of a biography of William Randolph Hearst, but takes liberties to make a more interesting story. The story, however, takes a backseat to everything else going on in the film.
From the first scene on, it's apparent that this movie is simply different than any other movie of its time. For instance, in the first scene with the boy playing outside, the camera pans back, revealing that it is actually inside of a house. Two characters come into the foreground and are having a conversation while sitting at a dinner table, but the camera still keeps focused on the window outside. The viewer gets to capture everything happening at once, from the parents deep conversation indoors to the child's lighthearted play with his sled Rosebud. All with the choice of the viewer's eye.
This is what makes Kane special. That and the revolutionary way to tell a story through flashbacks, which is normal now, but in that day, was, as they would say, "the bee's knees." Still, boring plot does knock this film down a peg or two. Still amazing in its own right though.