Film: Letter from an Unknown Woman (222/250)
First Time/Rewatch: First Time
Oh, Joan Fontaine. In every role I've seen her in, she is delicate, fragile, emotionally dependent. Naturally, she fits the role of the Unknown Woman perfectly. She isn't unknown, not really...in fact we know her whole story. Her name is Lisa, and she's been in love with the charismatic pianist Stefan (Louis Jourdan) her whole life. She is unknown only to him, who thinks nothing of wooing her, smashing her heart into a million pieces, and then forgetting all about it. This one definitely had me yelling expletives at the TV! It's SO frustrating watching a woman live her life for some man who couldn't care less, and it happens way too often, in cinema and otherwise. Despite my disappointment in Lisa's self-esteem, I really enjoyed this film...the scenes were tied together nicely, and it had the same wistful melancholy feeling as other films by director Max Ophüls (The Earrings of Madame de... (1953) in particular). I was surprised that this film was so hard to track down...I had to watch it on YouTube, of all places. I really recommend giving it a watch if you're able to find it; it's an underrated little gem.
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