Why, yes, I do think you’re awful parents.
I put off watching Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) because I felt the title was wretched.
The title is the most wretched element of this movie. This is a taut thriller about a nightmare – your child has gone missing. Set in England, a sister and brother have just arrived from America, along with her 4 year old child, and the child is being placed in a traditional British preschool. She disappears the very first day. But why? Ran away? Kidnapped? But no money, no celebrity, just another obscure mother and daughter …
And then the twists begin, as each assumption you might make is taken out and given a fierce shake, casting different lights and shadows over the story. Bathed in the traditional ascerbic British humor, mostly delivered by the police superintendent assigned to the case, it brings freshness to dialog that might have otherwise been a traditionally dull American dialog. And along with that dialog comes quirky, fascinating characters, from the aggressively self-promoting landlord, looking for some action from the single mother, to the elderly founder of the preschool, now writing a story book based on the imaginative stories of the children she’s cared for. In her living room is a painting of her co-founder, Madge, naked.
We started this movie on impulse, starting way too late to finish it. Except we did, drawn in by the fine performances, the intriguing characters, the flood of information that led nowhere, the paucity of critical information – all the elements of a good thriller.
And then the surprise blow is struck.
The organic nature of the story makes this an excellent specimen. The characters went where they must, with no deviation to the sentiments of the audience, who are consigned to following along behind the characters as they follow their impulses, and pay for their decisions. Yes, this strikes me as film noir.
Recommended.
