Product: The Man Who Never Was (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Good as Ever
I first saw this movie as a kid when it came out. The opening is magisterial: a body washed up on a lonely Cinemascope beach at dawn, and a mature male, Scottish accented voice-over reciting the doom-laden lines:"Last Night I dreamed a deadly dream,That beyond the Isle of Skye,I saw a dead man win the fightAnd I think that man was I."The scene and the words stayed with me through the years to this day. I have just watched the DVD. The movie remains taut, swift, detailed, unfussy, truly a remarkable yarn very well told and acted. No gore, no chases, no explosions, the tech is low, the methods rigorously parsed and distilled, but at the core remaining improvisatory, as one reads they were during the war. This film sees itself as having no need to impress in any way other than by having believable, life-sized characters, develop the tale efficiently and well. So refreshing, these days.The movie hasn't aged. Seeing it as a kid led me to read the book. I don't think I will re-read it, but I can certainly envision playing the DVD again and sharing it with friends. Clifton Webb is superb in a role which illustrates what a multifaceted, wonderful actor he was. He has a way of showing brains and wisdom without calling attention to himself. The sort of behaviour one would expect from a consummate intelligence operative. Good script and top-notch acting.Notwithstanding Cinemascope and the war-pic trappings, this is an economical, concise film which tells a gripping tale and goes by fast. But that poem and that body on the lonely beach linger in the imagination.