Touch of Evil (1958)

I did not enjoy Touch of Evil as much as I had anticipated. I am a huge fan of Orson Welles, who both directed and acted in this film, but there were aspects of the movie which completely detracted from the cinematographic qualities which were so interesting. I admire the filming style and acting ability of Welles, but the actual plot was not intriguing to me at all, and most of the main characters irritated me to the point where I never felt emotionally involved in the outcome of the story.

The film was extremely interesting aesthetically, with unique camera angles that accentuate the tension and terror of certain scenes (i.e. the hotel room murder by Quinlan) and intricately long shots that cover movement down whole city blocks. Despite my appreciation for the camera work, I was completely distracted from enjoying the movie as a whole by my dislike for every character. Some are intentionally unlikable (such as Quinlan), but the completely unrealistic makeup on Charlton Heston trying to play a Mexican official, the overbearingly obnoxious Uncle Joe Grandi, and the helpless Janet Leigh left me no one to like or cheer for. I can't exactly pinpoint whether it was the character or actor that I disliked, but I know by the end I did not really care what happened to any of them.

Overall, there are redeeming qualities of the film, like the filming, and the film had potential to be intriguing and entertaining, but it fell short of exploring that potential fully.