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 The Citadel Movie Review

The Citadel is a 1938 British drama film directed by King Vidor and starring Robert Donat and Rosalind Russell. It’s a pretty good, effective film.

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“Andrew, do you remember once telling me

that all good research man needed was a notebook,

a microscope and a room with a roof over it?“

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An impoverished doctor, Andrew Manson loses sight of his ideals when he starts treating the rich. This movie is based on a famous novel of the same name by A. J. Cronin. And I could see that it was based on a novel judging by its screenplay, which is solid for sure, but not as greatly adapted as one would hope.

I am talking about its character development above all else. The protagonist is excellent, there is no doubt about it. But others are much weaker, including Christine Barlow who is well acted by always strong Rosalind Russell, but there is not much to her regardless.

But Robert Donat himself is excellent as Dr. Andrew Manson, the heart and soul of this movie. You feel for his pain and for his conflicting thoughts because of Donat’s powerhouse performance. He’s so great, in fact, that he easily should have won over Spencer Tracy for his forgettable performance in ‘Boys Town’. But at least he got a nomination.

The Citadel takes its time to get there owing to a very slow start. The entire first half is honestly rather slow and uneventful. The movie lost momentum before it even got it. However, that all changed with the first half. This is where the film reached greatness even.

The entire third act is absolutely terrific with the bridge scene being the finest moment to be had in this movie. Disillusioned and disappointed with everyone, Andrew goes to the bridge where he gets to examine his ideals and realize that it’s important to pursue his goals no matter what. It’s a powerful, truly beautiful moment realized in the best, most cinematic way possible.

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I did like the dialogue as it’s one of the highlights of the movie and the cinematography is also solid. The same goes for the direction. It’s a film that could have been great had they tweaked a bit that first half, but overall it’s good enough and a solid Best Picture nominee for this year.

Though slower and less memorable in its first half, The Citadel got its momentum in the second half, especially in the third act with the bridge scene being an emotional standout. The movie is well directed, quite moving and phenomenally acted by Robert Donat who gave one of his best performances here.

My Rating – 4

You can get this wonderful Oscar nominee on Amazon.