A Farewell to Arms (1932)
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A Farewell to Arms Movie Review
A Farewell to Arms is a 1932 Pre-Code romance film directed by Frank Borzage and starring Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes. It’s a romantic, but overly melodramatic flick.
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“You’re the loveliest thing in the world“
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Now, the thirties remain my favorite decade, but even I have to admit that the period’s biggest problem was the overly melodramatic storytelling, especially in the first couple of years. This movie is pretty much another example of that. It follows a romance that develops between a nurse and an ambulance driver during World War I and, although very sweet and charming, the movie becomes bogged with its romance and those war elements are rare and ultimately not necessary to the overall proceedings.
The ending is ridiculously melodramatic and tragic to the point of being way too manipulative and on-the-nose. It wasn’t needed and the emotional investment should have been given to us differently. But as I said, despite it being so aggressively modern, the movie still works in its central romance thanks in large part to its two great stars.
Yes, Helen Hayes was definitely miscast in this weird role for her, but she still delivered a strong performance for sure. The same goes for Gary Cooper who remains a very charming, handsome presence in every movie of his. The two share a solid chemistry and some of their scenes are exceedingly romantic and actually rather endearing. But all the other characters are very forgettable.
Another big strength of the film lies in its photographic execution. Yes, the cinematography here is so strikingly gorgeous, sensual and perfectly accompanying each romantic scene that the movie entirely deserved its Oscar win in that category. It’s the standout of the film for sure.
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However, its win for Sound is questionable and the nominations for Art Direction and especially Best Picture are silly and uncalled for. Ernest Hemingway apparently despised this adaptation of his novel, but I didn’t mind its emphasis on romance instead of war drama. I actually was in favor of that. But the melodramatic approach, overly slow pace and too many uninteresting scenes prevented the movie from becoming great for me.
A Farewell to Arms is worth watching for its two stars Helen Hayes and Gary Cooper who are great together and for the cinematography which is strikingly sensual, but the movie’s overly slow, uninteresting in many parts and simply way too melodramatic in approach, especially in that ridiculously tragic, over-the-top ending.
