6/10
Old time mystery crime drama.
4 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Behind Green Lights was released in February of 1946, and because of that I felt I would be bored or even frustrated by the acting and the story line. But that just wasn't the case. I really enjoyed the feeling the film gave me as I watched it, it just had the "old classic" feel about it. Most of the film takes place in the police station with the classic "everyone is smoking and wearing a suit". The film is black and white, and given what the film is about, it is very fitting and adds to the film. The opening scene starts with a small dialogue between two very important people of the film, Walter Bard and Janet Bradley. Janet just happens to be the daughter of a candidate running for mayor with the elections the following Tuesday. Not much is revealed in this opening scene but there's enough to wonder why the movie starts out with it. After some conversations at the police station, introducing some of press characters and other cops, the main event takes place; a dead body is found in a car right outside of the station. It's Walter Bard, dead, in his car by himself, with a gun wound. At this point you really start to get hooked by the many plot twists and endless possibilities of what could have happened, it keeps you guessing and just when you think you know what's going in it changes again. The lieutenant, Sam Carson, is really put into a tough situation as it is his job to find out what happened and who the murderer is. There are multiple suspects of who it could have been and multiple small sub stories of others' points of view helps you understand where these people are coming from and their motives, and truly demonstrating that the film hits the mark of the drama genre. As Lt. Carson starts to investigate and conduct more interviews with the possible "murderer", you really start to narrow it down. You start predicting that it is Janet or Nora, the victim's wife who is trying to get a divorce. I really liked the personal struggle of Lt. Sam Carson in doing what is right, even though he was enticed by one of the main newspaper owners to book one of the suspects in order to potentially corrupt an important mayoral election coming up for personal gain, recognition, and to avoid embarrassment for the police staff, but being a man of the truth and knowing what is right he made sure to do what it took to find the truth. He was fair with everyone and tried to get everyone's point of view. The film does a really good job of telling the stories and background stories for the characters without taking away from the main storyline. It does so to add to the story instead of take away or even distract from it. You realize that each person has their struggles and you start to see that each person is trying to do what's best for themselves or the ones they care about. One part that really demonstrated this was from the new lover of Nora, Arthur. Without giving away too much, he sees that Nora could be in real trouble and he does what he has to do to make sure that she'll be alright even if it meant he would be the one in big trouble. This makes it easy to relate to. I don't say that meaning everyone will be involved in a murder crime one day, but there will be times when our integrity will be questioned, when we have to make a decision to do what's right, when we may have to sacrifice for the ones we love, or even when a close friend gets in trouble. This film does a good job of telling an honest story of the characters' struggles. It goes beyond just your typical mystery. The director did a fantastic job of combining those genres into one great film, by connecting to the actors and the multiple plots twists which makes it easy to connect to.
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