I had no idea the writing in this would be that good. The dialogue feels like something out of a Billy Wilder film or HIS GIRL FRIDAY with how quick the back and forth is between the characters. Everything is so biting. It also does a great dance between balancing who’s POV we are in — Dix or Laurel. There are times where you think either one of them could be the murderer and that’s the point. It also feels like a great pairing with something like STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and what happens when a man is inherently violent. The question this film forces you to reckon with is that just because someone is short tempered and quick to violence, does that mean they are a murderer? Normally films about filmmakers tend me a little to much for the people making it, but it never felt this way here. At the same time, Bogart plays a writer so well. He knows what is like to enter someone else’s mind. The film feels way ahead of its time in way of plot and what it is saying about human relationship and emotions.
