Gaslight (1944)
Laura’s Rating: 4/5 Stars
A psychological thriller with a lasting impact.
Plot: After the death of her aunt, Paula Alquist leaves London to study opera in Italy. There she meets Gregory Anton, and after a whirlwind romance, the two move back to London. Back in her aunt’s house, Paula starts to notice strange occurrences, missing items, and even starts to question her sanity.
Analysis: So the term “gaslighting” literally comes from this movie. For those of you unfamiliar, gaslighting refers to the behavior of manipulating and lying to someone in order to make them question their sanity. I love to see that an old film still has an impact on society today.
Ingrid Bergman, who plays Paula, does an excellent job in the role. Her distress and confusion as the film goes on is palpable and her performance won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.
The suspense and mystery about what is happening in the house and to Paula grows throughout the movie and the climax and ending perfectly round out the story. I really enjoyed Gaslight and I’d recommend the film for fans of old mysteries and noir.
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