Singing in the Rain Review

Number 92 on the top 1000 films of all time is the film that gave us one of the most famous song and dance routines of all time: Singing in the Rain.

The film is set during the send of the silent era of films and focuses on a cast of characters who have to make the hard transition from silent films to speakies.  At the centre of this conflict there is Don lockwood (Gene Kelly,) his best friend Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor) and Lockwood's love interest Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds.)

Considering the last film I reviewed was Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, a.k.a an immensely popular silent film released when the silent film was at its peak, I found it interesting watching a film that centered on the downfall of the silent era.  Singing in the Rain painfully demonstrates how some more actors were more suited to silent films, rather than speaking ones.  Nowhere is this clearer than with the deluded and talentless Lina Lamont, Lockwood's leading lady, who lacks the voice or class for talking films.  In some ways, this film is a comment on the difficult of staying topical and relevant in a cut-throat, fast-paced industry.  The same can be said for certain child actors of today, like Macauley Caulkin, Jake Lloyd and Wil Wheaton.

The fact that Singing in the Rain is a musical conveyed a certain life and magic that silent films lacked.  The songs kept the film upbeat and entertaining to watch.  They provided it with an energy that kept it engaging, despite the unbelievability of characters spontaneously bursting into song and dance.  Although, the good old suspension of disbelief helps to tackle the incredulity that musicals like these inevitably cause.

My previous point, notwithstanding, the film wasn't enthralling throughout, and I did find myself falling asleep at times.  This led to me missing a few key sequences such as Gene Kelly's iconic song and dance scene.  This did lead to me becoming a little lost at times.  Whilst it wasn't a major problem, it did hurt my viewing experience.

That's another film from the classic era of Hollywood watched; an interesting tale about how easy it is to become forgotten and obsolete.