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Since You Went Away Movie Review

Since You Went Away is a 1944 drama film directed by John Cromwell and starring Claudette Colbert, Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten among many others. It is a sprawling mess.

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“I would appreciate it, my dear Bridget,

if in the future you could spare me

from your father’s elaborate puns“

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With her husband away to fight in World War II, a housewife must care for their two daughters alone. This was one of those movies that sought to depict not just the warfront, but also the homefront. That was a noble intention, but this was not a way to go with this kind of story. I am in favor of portraying what women were doing and how they were helping the war cause, but here the drama felt superfluous, especially in the context of a great war raging in the meantime.

I am not familiar with the director of this movie and that is probably the biggest issue here as Cromwell’s directing is very mediocre. He did not elevate the material in any way nor did he make anything particularly cinematic out of it. Their intention was to make the next ‘Gone with the Wind’, but needless to say those lofty ambitions were far from met.

It’s an overlong drama at almost three hours and they even included the musical interludes. It was clear that they wanted to cash in on the success of the aforementioned film, but a strong story simply wasn’t anywhere to be found. The pacing is so slow and the movie so long that I was bored throughout. Especially frustrating was this emphasis on this far from traditional family that is quite rich and yet they were supposed to be relatable to most Americans.

Since You Went Away would have been much better had it focused more on helping the war effort instead of the love affairs and personal drama between the characters. It felt tacky to depict those regular issues at a dangerous time such as WWII. Thankfully, the performances are uniformly strong from this honestly terrific cast. Claudette Colbert is particularly memorable and likable in the main role as she always is. She was wonderful here. Jennifer Jones was also surprisingly strong and it was nice seeing Joseph Cotten as well. Shirley Temple was very charming in a rare teenage role for her when she was already older.

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The movie was nominated for nine Oscars, thankfully winning none, but still the idea that this film would be nominated so extensively is truly troublesome. Yes, it was epic and relevant for the era, but none of the performances were that amazing, though they were good, and the technical aspects are only serviceable. The movie had its charming family drama moments in the first half, but by the second half I’d already become disinterested in it.