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Casablanca Movie Review

Casablanca is a 1942 romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains and Paul Henreid. It is one of the greatest movies of all time.

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“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world,

she walks into mine“

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A cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco. This is the kind of iconic filmmaking that only gets better with each subsequent viewing. After my third viewing, now it’s gone even higher up my ranking of the best films of all time. It has huge repeat value and it’s a timeless film that has stood the test of time gloriously and has only become better with age.

Casablanca is a romantic drama at its core, but it’s also much more than that as it somewhat defies genre classification given that it has many different tones and moods employed. It just as well can be viewed as an espionage and war picture. Unlike so many of its contemporaries in this period that was flooded with mediocre and dated WWII flicks, this one is actually quite modern in its sensibilities as the spy elements are incredible and the movie’s intensity is undeniably strong, especially in its powerful, unforgettable third act.

It’s one of the most genuinely entertaining films from the forties and one that very easily can be shown to a person who has never seen an older black-and-white film and they will probably eat it up. It’s a perfect film to start on your oldies journey, so it has immense importance because of that. Its pace is brisk and consistently the film is both riveting and even quite thrilling at times.

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But undeniably Casablanca is best seen for its romantic elements. The central romance between Ilsa and Rick is undoubtedly one of the best in the history of cinema. Their relationship is just that iconic. The reason why it works so well lies in its very different tone and approach to storytelling. Unlike many other romantic pictures from the time, this one doesn’t have a happy ending, but it also doesn’t really have any happy moments at any moment of time during its runtime.

The only joyous and truly lighthearted sequences are buried in the flashbacks, thus the movie was positioned as an ode to a love long lost, exhibiting one of the most melancholic atmospheres ever in a Hollywood feature. This sense of longing, regret and sadness is deeply pervasive and this is what made the central relationship uniquely different. The dynamic between the two is sweet and adorable, but also genuinely tragic as they know they will probably never be together. Rare are films that deal with love and romance from this opposite spectrum of emotions and this one surely has a huge variety of different emotional beats, delivering at every single one of them.

But of course the romance wouldn’t have been half as strong hadn’t it been for the iconic performances from its amazing cast. I have no idea why the Academy snubbed Ingrid Bergman for a nomination when this is in fact one of her best and most memorable roles. She is simply incredible here – radiant like a movie star and charismatic, but also truly vulnerable, heartbroken and conflicted whenever the script asked for any of those emotions. She delivered at all of these beats and just watching her facial expressions was very moving.

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As for Humphrey Bogart, he was nominated rightfully so. This is also one of his best and most famous roles for many great reasons. He is just as tough and as cynical as always, but here he is also a kind, sweet soul, and that duality was evident throughout. He played especially well his character’s sad emotions. The two were just outstanding together as their chemistry was definitely there in every scene.

But there are other supporting players in this brilliant cast that need to be singled out for praise. Claude Rains plays Louis, the friend of Rick’s, and the one guy responsible for that iconic final line about friendship. He was excellent as always and deserving of his Oscar nod. Paul Henreid is terrific as well as the new partner of Ilsa’s in a lesser, but still important role. It was also wonderful seeing Peter Lorre in a small, but definitely memorable turn as he is always very amusing whenever he is on screen.

Casablanca looks fantastic and sounds wonderful as well due to very atmospheric, almost noirish atmosphere and a grand orchestral score that really amplified the emotions on screen. The editing and pacing are also top-notch. It’s a rare film that is consistently involving to watch. The sporadic humor is wonderful too while the use of music in the themes of the story was wonderful. The dialogue is another highlight as it’s the type of iconic movie that’s filled with so many to this day quotable lines. It’s ridiculous just how quotable this film is. Michael Curtiz is a phenomenal director and this is his career’s best-directed and most accomplished film.

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