June 2009 Archives

After the first 15 minutes or so it's pretty clear how Magnificent Obsession will end. It doesn't really matter though, the beauty of it is watching how everything plays out.

Jane Wyman takes the female lead as Helen Phillips, the incredibly earnest new bride of the much loved and respected local doctor, Wayne Phillips. When the film opens she appears to be at the peak of happiness; just married and getting to know her new stepdaughter Joyce (played by the stylish and stunning Barbara Rush.) One begins to suspect that Helen's carefree happiness is fleeting.

I echo Pico Iyer's concluding sentiments he puts forth in his review of this book in the New York Times a few weeks back. Since finishing it,  I have thought about every day as well. I've thought many times about it's overall greatness but also, I've thought about, without much success, why exactly it's so great. It certainly is funny;  Geoff Dyer's writing has a carefree breeziness to it, almost as if the words just flow from him onto the page without the furrowed brow and hand-wringing. He's got what appears to be a natural talent for the comical.