Great visuals

Dear Martin Scorsese,

I decided to watch Force of Evil after you spoke about it on the On the Waterfront DVD. What impressed me the most about the film were its visuals. The first shot of the enormous buildings of Wallstreet pans to the tiny people walking on the road, almost inconsequential like ants. This theme is emphasized by repeating the same visual later in the film. After John Garfield walks out of his boss' office with stolen money, there are two beautiful long shots where the gigantic buildings tower like monsters over Garfield's tiny frame. There is some great film noir cinematography just before this scene as a single key light is used to show a slightly open door. The light shines on parts of John Garfield's face as he is about to spy on his boss.

The film is a bleak tale of corruption where a big betting racket company (involved in the numbers game) tries to consolidate its position by forcefully acquiring all the smaller companies. This puts two brothers in conflict. It is a world where nobody is really honest. Everyone from the boss to the janitor is corrupt at some level or the other. And what is worse. The powers that be will not let anyone leave. The dialogs which include a first person narration by Garfield's character are almost poetic as different characters lament about the state of their lives.

Frankly, I can't say I cared too much for the film apart from its visuals. The plot was needlessly complicated. And apart from John Garfield, most of the other actors seemed to be quite unremarkable. None of the faces really stood out for me. I can understand how this film might have inspired the relationship between the brothers in The Raging Bull, Martin.

Best Regards,
Pimpin.

(6/10)