Camille (1936)

Some reviews on Letterboxd are essentially: I love Garbo. That's fine, but your appreciation for an actor doesn't equate to a 5-star review. I like a lot of actors, and most of them have been in movies of varying quality. When posting a review, even if it's just a sentence, my view is: it would be helpful to focus on the quality of the movie and not simply give a rating to an actor's appearance in said movie.

All that said, I would agree that Garbo is an icon. She takes on roles that most actresses couldn't, and I like that as an actress, she's usually the center of the film, and not a throw-away after thought.

In this film, Garbo plays Marguerite -- a kept woman, a courtesan. A quick Google search explains that a courtesan is not a prostitute but is a woman who basically "sells her favors" to a rich man so that she can live in the manner of a rich person. Favors include sex.

As long as she's content living that lifestyle, no problem, but she recognizes that it's a golden prison. She doesn't believe in "love," and she will never have the opportunity to be in love if it exists.

Some reviewers joked that it was funny Marguerite isn't named Camille, the film's title, but the Wikipedia entry explains: "Marguerite is nicknamed la dame aux camélias (French for 'the lady of the camellias') because she wears a red camellia when she is menstruating and unavailable for sex and a white camellia when she is available to her lovers."

In the film, Marguerite gets what she deserves for her lifestyle choices. She's dying of tuberculosis. Again, Wikipedia suggests that Alexander Dumas was really thinking syphilis, but tuberculosis is used in replacement. Because it just sounds nicer?

My take on the ages of these characters: When the film was made, Garbo was 31 and Robert Taylor, playing Armand, was 25. It seemed to me that she was supposed to be significantly older -- the woman, wise to the world -- and he was supposed to be younger -- a man, just starting out, and poor, so still looking for a way to get his foot on the rung of opportunity.

From the description of the book, I'm now wondering if both characters were originally meant to be younger. In any event, Armand discovers Marguerite and falls in love. He's not a baron or aristocrat, and he either doesn't know that Marguerite is a courtesan or doesn't care.

Marguerite discovers she loves Armand, too, and they seem to be together, maybe even daydreaming of being married. Armand's father steps in, however, and reminds Marguerite that they can't actually marry. He won't allow it, and maybe more importantly. society won't allow it. Moreover, Marguerite knows she's dying. Why she's never transparent about that with Armand, I'm not sure. Maybe it would have saved a lot of drama.

If she just straight up told him, it would also screw with the romantic plot design of the film, as well as the ending.

Overall, I did like the film, and for reasons other than being a Garbo fanboy. Good film, but not quite great."

Rating: 3/5