Movie Recommendation: Rebel Without a Cause

Eric Rohmer wrote on the movie Rebel Without a Cause in “Ajax or the Cid?”. Eric Rohmer analyzes the film by dividing it into five acts in his critique. He says that he likens the spirit of this drama to Nick Ray's previous films and that some of the situations in the film contain very obvious similarities with his previous films. He cites some of the similarities he found in this context as an example. One of these; Natalie Wood's Judy character is not that different from Joan Crawford in Johnny Guitar despite the age difference. Rohmer carries this determination even further, and interestingly, all the main female protagonists (Cathy O'Donnell, Gloria Grahame, Susan Hayward, Ida Lupino, Viveca Lindfors, Natalie Wood, Joan Crawford) in Ray's films are defined by physical appearance and aura. He states that they are similar.

Rohmer describes Nicholas Ray as the poet of violence as well as perhaps the only poet of love. He says that he is a director who can convey not a passion like many other filmmakers, but a mysterious closeness that binds two people together very well. He adds that in addition to all this feeling of naturalness, the harmony in the background can be seen even in black-and-white films. He says Ray can do this more successfully than a colorist or plastic artist.

Rebel Without a Cause, is a successful movie in terms of directing, art direction, acting, and many more. Watching this after the Johnny Guitar movie offers a very useful viewing experience to see more clearly the unique elements of Ray, and why he is called an auteur director. The only negative criticism may be related to the scenario. Although the conflicts in the script are quite successful, at some points, it contains some details that may seem absurd in the general spirit of the film. While saying this, of course, it should not be overlooked that these are problems specific to the period in which they were filmed. Jim's conflict with his family and friends is handled very well. To give an example, I would say Jim and Judy's boyfriend duel with a knife. We had an exciting stage composition with incredibly high tension. In addition, James Dean's last argument with his family after the boy he was competing with died was very impressive. It would not be wrong to say that scene is a lesson for the directors of the future in terms of the use of space, as well as the camera movements and angles were determined and applied very successfully. Moreover, the movie inspired and continues to be an inspiration to many directors after him, with Nick Ray's uniquely masterful direction, casting, camera angles and movements, stage compositions, and many more.