A civilization gone with the wind...

Rating: 4/10 (18 December 2005)

While most will argue with me, I must begin by saying that I was not impressed with the overall final results of this "epic". The hype surrounding it, the overuse of Rhett's infamous line in pop culture, and the fact that most people rave about this being one of the most romantic films ever produced set my standards extremely high. I wanted to be blown away by the scenes, I wanted characters that would invite me into their worlds and never make me leave, I wanted tragedy on a grand scale, but alas, that wasn't what I witnessed with Gone with the Wind. Somehow I ending this film with a sense of astonishment, a sense of being robbed, and not at all the romantic film I thought I would be enjoying. Instead I saw hatred, sexism, racism, alcoholism, anti-love, pro-Confederacy, and ignorance all rolled up together into a two-disc packaging, which would be later called Gone with the Wind. It was embarrassing to watch and call as one of our "greatest love stories ever". While it may show us what society was like during a pre-Civil War era, that doesn't mean we have to condone it and embrace it.
I realize that the point of this film was to show us a different side of the war. That all Southerners were not fueled by hatred and surrounded by a violent slavery system. Instead, there was quite a bit of beauty to the old South. A sense of pride, a sense of gentlemanly nature, and a sense of honor, which was difficult to witness being trampled on as the North continued its destructive war path. In that sense, I think it gave us a glimpse of what we lost with the Civil War. That image of the South was beautifully captured in this film. This film gives us some of the most beautiful sights of lavish plantations, beautiful greens, and civilized parties. The technical aspects of this film are astonishing. While I will agree with most that a widescreen version of this film may have swayed me to giving it one more star, the full screen still demonstrated the amazing sights of the South. The wide shots of the mansions, the bustling Atlanta area, and terror/tragedy of war was beautifully captured in this film. For that, I cannot fault this film, but what I can fault it for are the stereotypes, the shallow characters, and the faded ending that just didn't seem to match the overall tone of the film.
To begin, the stereotypes. While most will say that the stereotypes in this film accurately depict the voice of the South, I just didn't feel comfortable watching it in today's society. I realize that this was made back in 1938, but I still didn't feel comfortable with slavery, sexism, and ignorance surrounding these characters. Does that make this film dated? Perhaps if I witnessed our characters going through some form of change I would have softened a bit, but I did not see that at all. With the continual struggles that minorities have in cinema today, is it wise to continue to think of this film as a masterpiece of cinema? Is it worth of all the accolades that it received? No. In fact, I am surprised that this film hasn't been shunned by a majority of communities during each release. This is a pinnacle example of what obstacles African Americans are trying to overcome in today's Hollywood.
There are those that speak so highly of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh's chemistry, but for me, it was non-existent. I did not see why there are those that fall over this film and praise the story. I thought that Leigh was horrid as the early Southerner turned feminist. Gable was so inconsistent with his character that I didn't know whether to love him or hate him. There was no chemistry or connection between Leigh and Gable. They were together because the director (which this film eventually went through three of them) knew that audiences would want to see them either together or going to get together by the end. The rest of it was just trivial. With the fuzzy direction of Leigh's character, you never quite felt that Scarlett had an ounce of passion in her heart. She wanted what she couldn't have, like a spoiled child, and that was reflected again with the inconsistent ending. Gable's character of Rhett was underdeveloped. We knew nothing about this man except that he randomly continued to jump in and out of Scarlett's life. Where did his wealth come from? What was his past? Who knows Â… and none of it was fully explained. This can be said the same with Ashley. Who was this guy? Why did Scarlett choose him over the other possible suitors? Was it simply because she couldn't have him, or because of some darker reason? Did anyone else notice that she was Irish, not quite the Southern belle that we had originally hoped for? Overall, these characters hurt and built upon the ultimate downfall of this film. They were forgettable from the first time that we met them until the very end of the film. Underdeveloped, unintelligent, and downright dull. All elements that gave us too long of a film centered on nothing.
Overall, I just didn't see what all the hype was surrounding this film. Our society has moved forward from this period, but do we need to be reminded of it continually by giving this film more and more accolades? I don't think so. I do not wish to see this film again and hope that it does not continue to be a staple of our cinematic society. From the unexciting, unloving characters (of which we all hate, yet are supposed to love by the end) to smile on Scarlett's face after the marital rape scene, this movie was a disaster.
Grade: ** out of *****