Indiscretion of an American Wife DVD, 1954

Is this the best 63 minute film ever made? Of course it wasn’t meant to be 63 minutes; the original cut ran to 90, and was slashed down by producer David O Selznick, who found De Sica’s direction and Truman Capote’s script too arty. In spite of this abridgement, what’s left is a moving, brilliantly filmed evocation of a couple’s last few hours together.

An American housewife (Selznick’s lover, Jennifer Jones) on holiday in Italy decides to end her affair with an Italian academic (Montgomery Clift) and leave the country via Rome’s Stazione Termini (the film’s original title). He catches up with her just in time, and they spend the rest of the night together. There are some incredible moments here; a scene where Clift slaps Jones is a sharp, unexpectedly human moment, and the walk of shame after their tryst is discovered is superbly filmed and acted. Although best known for his purely neorealist work (especially Bicycle Thieves), this sees De Sica blend his vérité technique with melodrama, and the result is remarkable.

A sorely underrated masterpiece.

Alex Davidson on 5th March 2008
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