Trychydts in English

I was really looking forward watching this film. When I was a kid, I have seen a few minutes from it. I was always curious about the rest. I knew that it is a great classic. I also wanted to see Humphrey Bogart in other films than Casablanca.

The Maltese Falcon turned out to be an excellent choice. If this is what film noir is about, than I definitely want to see more. The protagonist isn’t a hero, isn’t a legendary gunslinger (doesn’t even carry a gun) he is just a smart, tough and cynical private detective. There is no happy end in any means. The hero survives, and that is all — there is no large financial gain, there is no love found, there is no real justice carried out.

Being an almost 70-year-old movie, the plot was surprisingly complex for me — I expected a much simpler storyline. And, unlike many modern thrillers, there is a lot of mystery, but absolutely no confusion.

The only thing that was a bit strange was that the characters were far too one-dimensional. Nowdays we expect a much more complex performance from the actors. Sydney Greenstreet and Lee Patrick plays extremely well. I, however — being someone who was born in 1978 (the premier of Star Wars) — would have been much happier if I could learn a bit more about their character’s background.