A quibble about casting in both RW & Vertigo

Rating: 9/10 (8 February 2008)

While I recognize that star-power and box office are serious considerations in the casting of any film, I've always had a sense of discomfort with Jimmy Stewart in this film (and Vertigo). Perhaps my real problem is not really the casting of Stewart, but the mis-match of the beautiful and youthful Grace Kelly (and Kim Novak in Vertigo). Stewart was over twenty years older than Kelly & fifteen years older than Novak when the two films were shot. I think an actress with a little more maturity and depth might have worked more believably against Stewart. While both films are among my favorites (particularly Vertigo) I continue to suffer from a sense of discomfort at the implausibility of the love interest and the lack of a sense of any real chemistry in the performances. Nevertheless, they're both eminently entertaining and delightful films.