Mar. 09, 2003 - 8:19 pm
this was one that Greg was talking to me about at the media center the other day. he said it was good except for the ending. i considered turning it off 20 minutes before it was over, but decided against it because then i would always wonder what happened. i wasn't really disappointed by the ending. i think what we want to happen at the end probably doesn't happen because of the restrictive production code in place at the time in Hollywood, but it's still a decent ending. i guess my main problem with the film is that i just don't think it's very believable.
this is a film about a female newspaper reporter, played by Barbara Stanwyck, who comes up with a winning scheme to increase the circulation of her newspaper (and hang onto her job in the process). she publishes a letter to the editor sent in by a man who only refers to himself as John Doe. this man is fed up with the world and all of the disorder in it. he asks why everyone is living in misery and not helping out their fellow middle class citizens. he says all of the John Doe's of the world need to get together and work on being more friendly and helpful to one another. but it doesn't seem like these things will ever come to pass. the current state of things has left him depressed and without work, so he plans to jump from a skyscraper on Christmas Eve. eventually the newspaper is forced to put a face to this name and they choose a homeless man named John Willoughby, played by Gary Cooper. he begins giving speeches and talking to people and eventually a trip around the country starting up John Doe clubs that promote brotherhood. the main points of conflict are everyone's expectations that John might still commit suicide on Christmas Eve, and then the fact that he isn't actually who he pretends to be.
i really didn't find it believable that so honest and friendly a person would agree to pose as a fictional character and fool the American public in the name of brotherhood. and then the fact that this idea would start a national movement. no, i don't buy that either. the end was just sort of a side note. this story has problems.
still, the acting is pretty decent. not the best work any of the actors involved have done before, but still decent. the movie also features a character that plays the ocarina in his spare time (which is funny and cool if you're a Zelda fan) and it is also a film directed by Frank Capra, so you can tell it's got a lot of heart. i think i'll say i liked this one, but not tons. it gets 6/10.