Sometime around the late 2000s, probably 2007 or 2008, I was watching TV late one night, channel surfing after having smoked a bit of good weed and looking for something chill for nighttime viewing. At the time, I was a big fan of TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and was partial to exploring the classics of the golden age of Hollywood. This particular evening, I happened to land on TCM just as this odd, haunting movie was starting. Something about it immediately transfixed me and I couldn't take my eyes off its dreamy, strange interplay of light and shadows. All the way through, I kept wondering what it was I was watching, but it was only at the end ,when the title and credits played, that I found it was called Portrait of Jennie.
I immediately looked it up online and found it was available on DVD and ordered a copy. Once I got it, I watched it again (and again a while later) and just gave it another viewing last night to share it with my partner, who'd never seen it before. I still find it holds its charms quite firmly, as much as it did that first viewing.
Portrait of Jennie was released in 1948 and stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotton. It tells the tale of a lonely painter who meets this charming yet ghostly young girl. She seems to be from another time and another life and each time they meet, she has aged much more than the span of time which has marked the space between their meeting. Cotton's character is not sure if she's real and the whole relationship unfolds like a Twilight Zone episode. In essence, it's a love story, but it's also an allegory about life and death and eternity. Time and space twist and enfold around each other as their star-crossed paths entwine through spans of years or days, depending on your perspective.
Technically, the film is notable for some rather innovative and novel production techniques, utilizing scenes where fabric has been placed over the lens to give the image the texture of a painting canvas and mixing black & white film stock with splashes of scenes in tinted monochrome and full color. The film's cinematographer, who tragically died after the film's completion, was posthumously nominated for an Academy Award. The score of the film also uses a Theremin in the soundtrack during the segments with Jennie, to lend an air of dreamlike ambience. There are times when Jennie is shot to look like she's almost transparent, nearly fading into the background. There are also several striking exterior shots, done on location, such as those done in New York City's Central Park. among other places, which utilize natural lighting of sunrises and sunsets to magnificent and striking effect with the surrounding architecture.
The film also supplies an excellent supporting cast, most notably the legendary Ethel Barrymore as the owner of an art gallery who takes Cotton's struggling painter character under her wing to help nurture his talent. Veteran character actor, David Wayne, also turns in a lively performance as the best friend of the struggling artist.
Portrait of Jennie is a film which may be a bit old fashioned in its idealism and a bit naive in its belief in "true love", but it more than transcends these issues by its sheer commitment to its vision. It believes in itself so much, you just can't refuse its persuasions. And that's really the key theme as it shows an artist finding that the most powerful inspiration there is when creating is love.
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