A Doll’s House, directed in 1973 by Joseph Losey and based on Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 play, was my least favorite film of the semester. I felt that the characters were strangely depicted, and I did not like the setting of the film. I also felt that the film was too long because I quickly lost interest in the plot of the story.
First and foremost, I did not like the mood of the film. The setting was too cold, and I found it to be unwelcoming for the viewer. I think winter scenes can be inviting to an audience if the chemistry between the actors warms up the overall atmosphere and feel of the movie. In this case, however, there was no chemistry conveyed between any of the characters; and the feelings that were supposed to be shared between characters, whether it be friendship or relationship, seemed shallow, fake and forced. The characters just did not seem to mesh well, and I think the film suffered because of this. It was not that the movie had a bad feel to it; it was simply that it had no feel at all.
Although I did not think the film had a good atmosphere overall, I was able to form a fairly strong opinion about Nora (Jane Fonda). I thought Nora was over dramatic and constantly overacted throughout the movie. She was childish, which is exactly what she was supposed to be, but I thought she went overboard. Her bouncing, carefree attitude did not seem to coincide with her prompt exit at the end of the movie. I have no idea how a woman like her could survive on her own as spoiled as she was. Because of this, I felt like the exit should have been postponed or at least more heavily foreshadowed before it actually happened.
I also felt that the setting of this film was inaccurate. I had a hard time deciphering the time period, and I do not exactly know why. I almost wanted the movie to be filmed in black and white because I just did not feel that my mind was able to wonder back to a time of horses and sleds with color splashed across the screen .