It could have been filmed on stage, for almost everything happens in Lupino's house on Xmas' eve ; it's not gratuitous : children's joy , excited just before the coming of Santa Claus ,sharply contrasts with Ryan's fate who seems to come out of nowhere,bound to nowhere:the first scenes are particularly good; the cleaning-man 's scared face leads the viewer to believe he will play the role of the suspect,the fugitive ,chased by the police .
Although one is never told that Ryan is a murderer , one,little by little, begins to suspect him; "a cleaning -man who sweeps the floor , who polishes ,it's not a man's work !says the contemptuous nasty niece ;later one learns that this man was found wanting when he tried to enlist during WW2; this humiliation ('there was a room full of men and I was as strong as 'em")comes back to haunt him when he sees the photograph of Lupino's killed in action husband ; that he wants to don the late soldier's military coat verges on fetishism .
Ryan ,cast against type, works wonders as a world-weary man , who got a raw deal ; at first Lupino shows sympathy for this last ,lonely and wretched bum,but she realizes the danger : my favorite moment is when she sees her enemy's face reflected on the balls of the Xmas tree ;reflections are often used all along the movie :in water ,in mirrors , on the floor ,as though the character 's reflection was his conscience ,reminding him of what he had done.
Although one is never told that Ryan is a murderer , one,little by little, begins to suspect him; "a cleaning -man who sweeps the floor , who polishes ,it's not a man's work !says the contemptuous nasty niece ;later one learns that this man was found wanting when he tried to enlist during WW2; this humiliation ('there was a room full of men and I was as strong as 'em")comes back to haunt him when he sees the photograph of Lupino's killed in action husband ; that he wants to don the late soldier's military coat verges on fetishism .
Ryan ,cast against type, works wonders as a world-weary man , who got a raw deal ; at first Lupino shows sympathy for this last ,lonely and wretched bum,but she realizes the danger : my favorite moment is when she sees her enemy's face reflected on the balls of the Xmas tree ;reflections are often used all along the movie :in water ,in mirrors , on the floor ,as though the character 's reflection was his conscience ,reminding him of what he had done.