Welles' masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (3 December 2015)

Well I finally watched it, the so-called "greatest movie of all time". Does it deserve the praise? Yes. Is it the greatest film of all time? I wouldn't go that far. Its eclipsed for me by other classics like Casablanca, Taxi Driver, The Godfather and The Shawshank Redemption. But Citizen Kane is absolutely a great film, telling the story of one of the most famous characters of cinema history.
Citizen Kane opens, as we all know, with the passing of a titan. Whispering "Rosebud", Kane passes into the void and his snow globe shatters. Journalists desperately try to come up with a tribute that does not just retell his life but rather peels back the layers to expose the man within. With just the word "rosebud" to go off, journalist Jerry Thompson seeks out Kane's guardian, friend, co-worker, ex-wife and butler to conduct interviews that might reveal what "rosebud" means and that it might give a clue as to who Kane was. The film is shot in flashbacks with these interviews, a story technique I don't particularly care for but works essentially with the framing of the story and the mystery of Rosebud.
Citizen Kane breathes on two superb aspects, the first being Gregg Toland's breathtaking cinematography. Welles and Toland also orchestrate one of the most widely used and effective tools – shooting powerful characters from below and weak characters from above to diminish them. The only time this doesn't work is when in the final scenes, we can see Welles' prosthetic mask under his chin that would have been easier to hide with a different angle. Moreover, I am stunned by the fact that Citizen Kane contains some of the most perfect shots of all cinema history – Kane walks past a mirror, reflecting himself countless times out; the way the camera zooms in Kane's speech but manages never to lose frame on that iconic Kane for Governor poster in the background; Thompson sits down to read an archive with the light beaming in from a small window – I could just list them all. The last shot, a retreating camera over the clutter of Kane's estate, then the reveal of Rosebud's fate before a cut to black smoke spewing from his chimney is a masterpiece of reveal, camera-work and editing – and even thought I've seen it a dozen times on Youtube clips, it sent chills through my entire body.
The other aspect is Welles' magnetic performance as Kane. Welles himself was 25 when he made the movie – which you would never believe because he carries gravitas of a man twice his age with ten times the life experience. There is only one scene in which Welles plays his own age, and he does it with a youthful glint in his eye, but in the later scenes he carries the same sort of powerful presence that we expect from esteemed actors like Sir Daniel Day- Lewis or Sir Ian McKellen. The makeup team does probably the finest work I've ever seen in a film, ever. Kane's rage is palpable, his drive profound, and during one scene his sense of loss is affecting by the void we feel in his performance. Welles captures so perfectly the emotionally hollow man that Kane was, always seeking approval from others because he grew up distant from his parents. In one very telling scene, his son waves excitedly and Kane responds with a polite salute rather than anything warmer.
Citizen Kane's screenplay is a deserving representative of the film at the Oscars, with scenes like his disastrous run for Governor worthy of commendation in their own right. I could probably have done without most of the first twelve minutes, which is little more than an expository summary of the movie condensed for the paper's eulogy. It only sought to highlight also how skimmed over Kane's first wife was – their marriage consists only of a few back-and-forth scenes at the dinner table. She and their young son vanish from the film and without the opening montage I'd never know why. The other problems I have with the film are just problems of a past era of film – characters talk over each other, people hold phone conversations but don't pause long enough for the other person to speak, and people shout all the time because film was still in its early years.
None of that is to take away from Orson Welles' masterful film. His performance is one for the ages and some of the techniques in making the film should be used to teach new recruits to the industry. However, the thing I found fascinating was that in the closing credits, Welles gives every actor their due but slides himself into the extended cast list. Whether he was being humble about his performance or something else entirely, I found it fascinating.
Also, suck it Lisa – there totally is a cane in Citizen Kane. He carries it on the street when he meets his second wife.