There's nothing that can make a person a prisoner quite like their own heart; specifically if they're in love. Should you love a person who reciprocates your love, then you're not in prison at all. But, should you love a person who doesn't reciprocate that love, then you are bound to a near hopeless situation. Even the one being loved is put in an awkward position. As Frances Dee said in the film:
"You can't help it because someone loves you and you don't love them back."
Philip Carey (Leslie Howard) was hopelessly in love with Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis). It wasn't enough that Mildred didn't love him back, Mildred was also a mean woman who played upon Philip's affections. She used and abused him, but nothing was worse than her rejection and subsequent taking up with other men.
Bette Davis played her part so well. She was contemptible; probably one of the more reprehensible female characters of the early-30's, but for whatever reason I liked her. I didn't love her like Philip did, but I liked her character. She was mean, cruel, manipulative, and all that, but she was unapologetically so.
I'll tell you though, it was strange seeing Mildred's decline. That's something very rare. Usually women, who are the object of a good guy's love, pull through. And even if they don't come out ahead, I can't readily think of a woman who looked so beat down by life as Mildred did by the end. I would liken her to Jenny in "Forrest Gump" or worse even. The image of Mildred's lifeless, emaciated body at the end was haunting; especially for 1934. The make up was incredible.
And even though I normally despise women like her, I usually despise even more men like Philip. I'm talking about men so overly given to their weak hearts that they allow themselves to be trampled all over. However, I didn't have any ill-feelings toward Philip. I pitied him more than anything. He could've had so much good and potentially so much happiness if he could only have broken free from Mildred.
Both of them were to be pitied: Mildred for being dragged down by her life choices and Philip for being enslaved by his love for her.
I think I liked "Of Human Bondage" so much simply because it recognized this human condition. So often the boy loves the girl, and the girl loves the boy, they just need to overcome some external obstacles to be together. And even if there is some flaw in the boy or the girl, it's usually something from their past, or a flaw that can be gotten over. "Of Human Bondage" dispensed with the idea that just because a good guy loves a girl she's also good. The heart is not infallible, it's not a detective, and it can't discern good from bad. The heart is a cruel beast and has no rules that it follows, and "Of Human Bondage" showed that very well.
Free on Tubi.
"You can't help it because someone loves you and you don't love them back."
Philip Carey (Leslie Howard) was hopelessly in love with Mildred Rogers (Bette Davis). It wasn't enough that Mildred didn't love him back, Mildred was also a mean woman who played upon Philip's affections. She used and abused him, but nothing was worse than her rejection and subsequent taking up with other men.
Bette Davis played her part so well. She was contemptible; probably one of the more reprehensible female characters of the early-30's, but for whatever reason I liked her. I didn't love her like Philip did, but I liked her character. She was mean, cruel, manipulative, and all that, but she was unapologetically so.
I'll tell you though, it was strange seeing Mildred's decline. That's something very rare. Usually women, who are the object of a good guy's love, pull through. And even if they don't come out ahead, I can't readily think of a woman who looked so beat down by life as Mildred did by the end. I would liken her to Jenny in "Forrest Gump" or worse even. The image of Mildred's lifeless, emaciated body at the end was haunting; especially for 1934. The make up was incredible.
And even though I normally despise women like her, I usually despise even more men like Philip. I'm talking about men so overly given to their weak hearts that they allow themselves to be trampled all over. However, I didn't have any ill-feelings toward Philip. I pitied him more than anything. He could've had so much good and potentially so much happiness if he could only have broken free from Mildred.
Both of them were to be pitied: Mildred for being dragged down by her life choices and Philip for being enslaved by his love for her.
I think I liked "Of Human Bondage" so much simply because it recognized this human condition. So often the boy loves the girl, and the girl loves the boy, they just need to overcome some external obstacles to be together. And even if there is some flaw in the boy or the girl, it's usually something from their past, or a flaw that can be gotten over. "Of Human Bondage" dispensed with the idea that just because a good guy loves a girl she's also good. The heart is not infallible, it's not a detective, and it can't discern good from bad. The heart is a cruel beast and has no rules that it follows, and "Of Human Bondage" showed that very well.
Free on Tubi.